Beyond Time
by Mercenary Nemesis
Summary: Encounters of souls that lingers beyond time. Errors and hits are committed in the search of the harmony of Love. Two-part story. Adult Language in some chapters. Other RE characters participation. Spiritual. Fantasy. Hurt/Comfort. Mystery. Supernatural.
1. Chapter 1

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The background story and other characters are mine.**  
 **Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

And once again another battle, another mission. Chris Redfield, one of the original founders and now a Captain of the BSAA - Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance _-_ was leading his team in the field into a new outbreak in an old European country called Bohma, in the spring of 2010.

Chris, his second in command Piers Nivans and some other soldiers were battling the creatures when at a distance, Chris heard someone screaming and when he looked at the direction of a yellow building corner, he spotted a young woman running in despair from a new zombie-like type.

She stumbled and fell on the ground. Immediately, Captain Chris Redfield ran to her rescue and shot the threatening creature killing it.

"Are you alright? Did it hurt you or something?" he asked as he knelt down to give her an aid

"Thank you for your help. I'm alright, not a single scratch." The woman replied to him with a smile, as he helped her to stand.

They didn't let go of each other's hand and held on it tightly, as if their hands were hugging each other; their skin separated only by the fabrics of their gloves. Their lips curved up into slight smiles, as their eyes met for the very first time. Although, this probably wasn't the time but still Chris took a moment to take in the delicate features of the woman standing before him.

The woman had fair skin with a slight pinkish hue that had a majestic glow of its own; it was like those pink pearls in the necklace, which one of the senior members of his family has. Her silky hair was long and wavy, the color of which reminded of him of the fiery red-hot flames. And her gorgeous, emerald-like eyes didn't fail to hypnotize him.

They slowly let go of each other's hand and stepped away from each other but Chris couldn't take his eyes away from the enchanting lady standing in front him. He was already checking her out before he realized it himself.

The woman was wearing an eye-catching red colored short dress that had a lustrous plain silk covered by a semi-transparent embroidered mesh fabric, which had a floral design. It reached down until her knees, showing off her smooth and toned legs. The boat-shaped neckline was modest and the translucent sleeves covered three-fourths of her delicate arms. She also had a matching silk hooded cape tied around her shoulders, with the hood covering her head. There were no two thoughts about the fact that she looked absolutely fascinating.

The time seemed to freeze as his memory kept every single detail of her in a glimpse. That wasn't the typical of him to lose his frame of mind at such proportion while still being on the field. He couldn't help it this time. There was something about her… He was mesmerized.

"Chris, is everything all right here?"

Chris heard at a distance Piers' voice talking to him when in fact his second in command was standing right at his side.

Chris frowned returning to his senses, "Yeah… everything is fine" he answered him without taking his eyes from the young redhead woman

"Miss, what are you doing in part of town? You can't stay here. All the inhabitants should've had been evacuated!" Piers spoke with an authoritarian tone

"I know… but I just couldn't leave this behind…", she spoke looking over at the bag, which seemed to be a painting or canvas carrying case

"You risked your life and my Captain's for a board?" Piers spoke in slight disbelief, as lines of surprise ran across his face

The woman looked down seemingly embarrassed, "This is not merely a board. It's my work" she replied with a failing voice

Chris couldn't take the younger man behavior. His tone and the woman's reaction annoyed him, "Piers, go assist the others from where you shouldn't had left. I can handle here!" he spoke with a serious demeanor

"I just wanted to check on you since…"

"I'm fine! Now go!" the captain ordered his subordinate, taking advantage of his authority.

Piers sighed with a shrug and left in silence.

"I'm sorry for taking you from your duty and giving you so much trouble…" the woman looked down in embarrassment with an apologetic tone

"You don't have to be sorry. My duty is to help people." he spoke with a comforting tone, smiling softly at her

She smiled weakly with a nod, "Thank you…"

"By the way…" he cleared his throat, "What's your name?"

"My name is Angelina"

 _The hazel eyes encountered the emerald-like ones and a strong wave of sensations cored through their bodies…_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _ **Unaware, this is when their paths crossed again but not when their story actually began…**_

* * *

 _ **Chapter One**_

 _ **17th Century**_

At about age 17 Christopher Reed went to Bohma with his guardian to serve for the next years. He took part in Cardinal's diplomatic voyages, and was knighted by Carl Brandon, 1st Duke of Bohma during his first major military experience, the invasion of Baveen. At the age 21 he became a Knight of the Body, and sometime later he was responsible for the King's body armor as Master of the Tower Armory. Being the most skillful of his generation, both on foot and on horseback, he excelled in wrestling, archery, and the tournaments of the royal court.

However, it was during a battle at the limits of Bohma that his fate changed forever. After surviving an ambush and running away from chasers, without any other option available, seriously injured he jumped in the river – to die or to live, it did not matter – he was not willing to be a prisoner of the enemy.

(*)

Angelique Stafford a simple 17 year old girl with many talents such as writing, drawing, painting, dancing, swimming and singing, among other talents. She lived most of her life in the countryside with her mother who always supported her in everything. Daughter of a soldier, she never had much contact with her father and their weak bond got even more shaken after his second marriage to a vain and greedy woman who left poorness due to the marriage and always demonstrated to dislike Angelique and anyone that existed before her in the man's life.

Angelique's life changed when her mother died from an illness, which forced her to go living with her absent father and hatred stepmother.

One day, during a visit at the old simple house she lived with her mother near a lake, at early dawn when she was lost in her thoughts, she heard a strange noise and a weird movement in the water. Standing up to take a better close, her eyes widened when she took notice it was a man about to drown. Not taking any hesitation, the young woman jumped in the cold water and swam in the direction of the exhausted and struggling man who wore a military outfit.

"Sir, stay with me. We're almost at the shore"

It was still mostly dark. Everything passed in disturbing silence. In the early dawn, only the noises of the nocturnal animals seemed to give life to the shaded landscape of wherever he was.

In a window, in the dark, a quiet semi-naked muscular figure watched in silence the darkness that was ended, and the rise of the morning beginning.  
His face was pale and watched the lake course, discovering the first weak rays of light that shone through the moutains and trees.  
Anguished sobs break the cool stillness of the man.

The man supported by the sill was rhythmically shaken, packed by the distress of pain. The coughs felt suffocating. The purity of the white fabric became red due to the uncontrollable leak of hot blood that stained the pure skin. The young man's knees, in a Herculean effort, tried to stand up in an ultimate effort. His hollow and open eyes were still seeking the reason of so much pain in his twenty-one years.

Slowly, like a flower that falls down in the face of the storm, the pale figure fainted, and his body slid close to the window, falling to the ground, but his head, looking up, kept himself facing the window and the day he was born again. The eyes remained open, yet misty. They seemed to inquire the mysteries depths that separated life from death.

A few minutes later after regaining his conscience, surprised, the man sitting on the bed looked at the young redhead woman that had just entered the room holding a candlestick. Her countenance showed compassion.

"You'd better not move. You have lost a lot of blood" she spoke as she lighted up the others candelabrums

Her voice was so calm and soft. Her thin and delicate features emanated an angelical gaze and smile. Did he die and was seeing an angel?

"What's your name?" he asked intrigued with the whole thing

"My name is Angelique Stafford… Oh it's time to change the tissues…" She answered placing the candlestick at the bedside table and taking from her dress pocket a few tissues.

Looking at her made him forget his pain and be completely oblivious to the blood coring from the open wound in his waist that was rolled by tissues, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to soil the floor and the bed..."

She smiled softly, "It's alright, but from now on, avoid moving yourself so it will heal properly and prevent infections"

He nodded in agreement, "Thank you for everything, Mrs. Stafford"

She giggled, "You're welcome and just call me Angelique. I'm not married."

"Alright, Angelique. By the way, I'm Christopher Reed, but call me Christopher."

She nodded in agreement, "Nice to meet you Christopher"

"Nice to meet you too Angelique" he smiled back

She looked down clearing her throat in awkwardness pretending to check the bandages again. She had never stayed alone with a man before, much less a semi-naked man. Her heart was accelerated and her hands definitely freezing from the cold sweat. It was inevitable the thought that he was a very handsome man and most probably a married one.

.

.

.

He looked around the simple room and saw several paintings hanging on the walls. Beautiful paintings of people, animals, nature, "Is this your house?"

"Yes it is"

"Is your parents out there?"

She bit her lips looking down once again, "No. I live here…alone"

"You live here alone?" he repeated in surprise

She stuttered, "Ahm, well…yes and no" she swallowed in distress, "I…I live here alone when I visit here…alone sometimes…" she covered her face laughing in distress and walked away

Oh God, what a shame! The famous awkward moment when people speak nonsense sentences. Who ever created that should be punished! It's horrible feeling like an idiot.

He watched her not being capable to hold his smile. She was cute and still kept the innocence he liked. He was twenty-one years old and did have some experience with females. Not much as he wished since he used to dedicate most of his time in long missions and battles. Although, he felt old as most of his colleagues were already married and had children. A wish he expected to build as well someday, but hadn't found any woman who made his heart beat like the young redhead right here. He always dreamed of marrying for love.

"You came to visit your parents?" he asked in a friendly tone

"Not my parents… but I used to live here with my mother. The house and the memories here are the only things I have left of her…" she fought the tears as she spoke with a saddened tone

"Oh. I'm very sorry about your loss..."

She inhaled and exhaled heavily, "It's still recent, but I hope the pain will pass soon..."

He stood up and walked closer to her placing his hands around her shoulders in support, "I can relate to your pain... don't fight your tears"

She did cry a little. She didn't want to seem to be so weak to a stranger despite the hell she was living since her mother's death. Her stepmother made sure to always start a commotion inside the house they lived and even made out huge lies. And it didn't matter if the lies were proved to be her false testimonies, her father would always pick up his wife's side. So, to escape for a while the house of torments, she comes here, to her old shelter. No one really bothers to look for her every time she "disappears". In the Lake House, she feels safe. Right now, she felt protected.

Slowly Angelique returned to her normality as she wiped the tears and realized she was hiding her face in that man's chest, wrapped around his arms. Naked man! She pushed away crossing her arms around herself with a terrified expression.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you… I just couldn't help watching you crying and feel powerless when I know how the pain feels like…" he spoke in sorrow

"Don't touch me ever again... naked. You're not my husband!"

"I really won't do that ever again, I promise!"

"I'll get you some old clothes from my late step-father. Yours are still drying"

Christopher let out a heavy sorrowed sigh. He did feel bad for his "touching" way. It was a habit he didn't seem to control that much whenever he saw anyone in sadness. Sometimes he hated that trait of his to want to protect people anyhow even by simple gestures, or comforting embraces.

He sat back on the bed. Enjoying the wound pain as a form of his own punishment. Still weak and tired, he simply got back to sleep.

When Angelique returned to the room, she found Christopher sleeping soundly. Ignoring his nakedness as much as she could, she covered his body with the blanket and sheets.

She smiled as she checked gently his skin temperature. She had a mix of feelings about the previous episode.

Walking away slowly, she headed to the door to leave the room to go to hers.  
While she made her bed, she felt shivers whenever she thought of the man. Her stomach was weird. Ah and the smiles… Those smiles!

That night she could not sleep peacefully while she intercalated the time to check on the injured sleeping man and her restless mind for sharing her shelter with an attractive male stranger.

As days passed, Angelique and Christopher continued sharing the Lake Manor as he recovered from his injuries. Always sleeping in different rooms and respecting each other's privacy.

He was a strong man, but her medical abilities impressed him. She wasn't a doctor, but her knowledge about medical plants and special cares made her one of a kind.

In one morning, Angelique was cleaning his healing wound and couldn't help the curiosity in what had caused it.

"It was a sword attack... when I jumped in front of my best friend in an attempt to save him from attack..." he looked down as he remembered the fatidic moment

"An attempt? You could not save him?"

"I don't know... I hope I did... Pierce is like a brother to me, but I know he was injured too."

She made a sad face, "I hope that act was not in vain either, but you're lucky it didn't perforated any internal organs..."

"Yes, I know… but I almost died of bleeding"

"Or infection" she added

The young woman didn't insist in any more questions on the matter. She noticed he didn't want to get in details about the incident. A little unfair in her opinion as she did share her special hiding with him, however she was aware women should obey to men and not force subjects they don't want to share.

"What about you? Where did you learn medicine?" he asked in curiosity as he watched her passing honey in his wound

"From my parents. My father is a soldier and has been injured during battles as well and my mother had a friend who used such practices."

"That's nice… so your father is a soldier?"

She nodded in silence

"How is that possible you living alone in this house without relatives… or a husband?"

She bit her lips looking attentively to his wound. She was hesitant, but couldn't let him without an answer and lying wasn't in her books, "I'm not married. My father lives in another land a few miles away from here with his wife. He owns this land now and allows me to stay here whenever I want…"

"Oh, I see..."

She nodded in silence as she finished the procedure. It was her time to not get into further details as well.

As the days passed, they learned more about each other and were becoming good friends. He finally realized that they were both hiding. He was "hiding" from the battle enemy and the court. While Angelique was "hiding" from her father and evil stepmother, a subject that always made him concerned about his angel's safety.

Angel – Yes – that's what she resembled to him. She was kind and polite, multitasked. She was clumsy as well, which only gave her an extra charm.

The young couple did get very along in many subjects. He came to realize and admire her many talents and personality. She had an independent spirit and fishing was another of her good abilities to put food in the table - he enjoyed fishing.

Despite his wound that once or another used to re-open, he always tried to do anything innate to a man such as carrying heavy loads. Maybe a stubbornness from his side or maybe just being a gentleman as he is. He helped her in whenever he could, especially with the wood, because as a man he had the strength for such task and also as a knight he had the skill for it.

"Do you have any intention of returning to the court when you get recovered?" she asked during a lunchtime

"I hope not, even if I get better, unless they find me before and come to my "rescue"…which I have doubts"

"Why won't they rescue one member of their troops?"

"It's a complicated situation. I might have committed a big mistake for running away… my honor is in quest… so I think it's better they believing I'm dead and be a free man for long as I can"

She turned her face to the side thoughtful. She could relate to the wish for freedom.

"You might be thinking I'm a coward, is that correct?"

She shook her head in denial, "No"

"No?" he repeated in surprise

"Is that what you think of yourself? You're a coward?"

"Ain't I?"

"Are you? Is it corwardness fighting for your own life?"

"As a military, I made a vow to fight for my King, my Majesty, my Nation and give my life for them… my own wish is not a priority"

"I understand that code, but I believe that you might have more value staying alive instead of dead… you still can continue fighting when you get better"

He smiled with tenderness. There was still naivety in that young soul, "There's a large difference between the idealism and reality. There's no room and forgiveness for mistakes in a battle. The little honor left shall be paid with my death… so I'm giving them my death…"

"And in the other hand you're getting your freedom without honor" she completed his sentence turning her face to look at him

"That's the case!"

She let out a giggle, "What you call cowardice I call a clever move… it's like killing two birds with one stone"

"Maybe you're correct, but the price is high"

"At least one of us is free now..."

They exchanged gazes for a few seconds. She was so beautiful and so understanding of him. Her fair skin and fire-like long hair. Her eyes green like the lake. The innocence in her gaze and the vibrancy of the young soul. The blush forming in her cheeks made her even more beautiful as she turned her face abruptly to the side in an attempt to disguise her shiness and the clumsiness of letting the silverware fall on the ground.

More and more she captivated that young man with an old soul that slowly seemed to regain his youth back thanks to that tender dreamy fire-like spirit.

* * *

 **Stafford's Land**

The day had everything to be peaceful for Mrs. Amelia Stafford who was playing with her daughter at the yard in a morning.

A tall man, looking in his 40's, bald, wearing a black outfit walked in the woman's direction with a serious expression. He had returned from a long mission.

"Do you know where Angelique is?"

"My love. You are back to the safety of our home!" the woman spoke in an excited demeanor and with a large smile

"Yes, I'm back, however, where's Angelique?" he replied with a surly tone

"She ran away again. She must be at the lake manor, as the usual…" she answered rolling her eyes and with a cold demeanor

"For how long this time?"

"Don't know and don't care. She's grown up enough to take care of herself"

"She's not married yet!"

The dark haired woman shrugged not giving importance to the man's supposed concern, "And she will never be if she continues declining the few candidates she gets, after all, she's not a marriage material"

"She's still my daughter and I want the best for her"

The woman faked a smile, "And so do I! That is why I was wondering that she shall be sent to a nunnery if she doesn't get married until next year. She cannot live under your wings forever"

"A nunnery?"

"Yes, my beloved husband! If she declines another candidate, that demonstrates that she's not concerned about her welfare and lacks objective of life…a nunnery can put her in the line while she helps others because that's what she likes to do, right?" she spoke in a false amicable tone. Oh God if he could read her mind!

The man was thoughtful and promised to think about the matter. Apparently, that seemed to be a good second plan.

* * *

 **Welcome to Beyond Time, a love story that is initially set in the 17th century and then in the current time (21** **st** **Century).**

 **Our beloved character Chris Redfield is Christopher Reed, a young knight who used to serve the king of Bohma who fell in love with a young female commoner after escaping an ambush.**

 **Angelique Stafford is a young 17-year-old woman who lives her own battlefield in the house of her father after the death of her mother. Innocent and dreamy, she meets her greatest love, Christopher and the two soon develop a strong bond after spending time alone in their hiding place.**

 **Pierce is Piers Nivans that soon we will find out his role during the story.**

 **Apart from introducing the redhead protagonist, this is a story leading the antagonist that will show up next chapter.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **I thank everyone who has taken their time to read this chapter and got this far. I hope you will continue the new journey with me. I apologize for any grammar mistake or misspelling. Like I said previously, I'm not an English native speaker, but I try my best to tell my stories as much clearer and apprehensible as I can.**

 **I want this story to be a beautiful one.**

 **And for my old readers, I know I've said I was about to retire from writing, but I just can't stop my brain from creating stories! xD I'm sure I've created stories since I was in my mom's womb and why will I stop now?**  
 **Of course, you shall be alert that there might have some delays in the future because of my education. Real life is very important and I know that, but when that happens, just stick with me and be patient, understanding. You know me long enoug to know I don't quit! (Unless I die xD) I might have blocks during the way? Maybe... But that never stopped me before, right? You're witnesses of that! :D**

 **I'd like to give it up especially to my partners in crime, JennaWilliams and Herpderp/Pin Potato for their contribution for the creation of specific details or helping me with sentences or descriptions. You guys rock! :D**

 **And last but not least, I've missed so much saying this and I'm happily saying that again, my beloved...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.**

 **A/N:I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Northman's Palace  
**

Pierce Northman, a young 19 year old man and rear admiral who serves the Crown of Bohma and came from a lineage of soldiers as his father and great-father had served the kings in life, was laying down in his bed at the Palace of Northman, the land he inherited from his father who died in battle.

It was a cloudy and cold morning after raining all night long. The young soldier looked thoughtful and distant. Memories of the previous battle.

That day he did face the death after falling into an ambush that killed many other soldiers and almost gave the king of Edonia his victory if there was not for Christopher Reed's smart move disperse the his men and turn the enemy's ambush into their own trap.

A saddened sigh. Memories of their friendship.

Pierce and Christopher knew for a long time, even before they enlisted to be soldiers.

Bohma, a growing country had many villages spread around its territory. All the villages were subordinate to the king's power as he kept royal lands in every village and visited them from time to time. Although most of the villages were located nearby the king's land and main castle.

It was in one village near the main castle that the young men had met ten years prior when Pierce's father was invited to be part of the court. One day, the young boys met in the streets and since then they remained great friends and shared a brotherly bond. Until that night a few days prior...

Pierce had managed to escape the trap on the ground – very injured – and with difficulty ran to reach a horse and continue battling. He was ready to die but giving his life was not going to be so easy for the enemy. They had to try harder. And that was what had happened, he ended up cornered and before receiving the blade of the sword into his chest, he saw a shadow jumping in front of him and receiving the attack in his own abdomen.

"Pierce, run!"

His friend and nearly mentor yelled as he wrestled with the Edonian soldier and removed the sword from his abdomen and used it with a single precise move to kill the Edonian soldier.

"I will not run! I am soldier and giving my life in battle…"

"The war is not only about death, but life! You have to tell and give this to the king!" the agonizing Christopher who was kneeling down on the ground interrupted the younger man and gave him a paper, "There are others coming from an opposite route! There's a traitor serving the king of Edonia, he's infiltrated and you must prepare our king before is too late!"

"We both are going to do this, together!"

"No! just go Pierce! It's an order!"

Vexed, Pierce Northman only option was to obey to his superior and old friend who ran into the woods to distract some other soldiers giving him time to return to the castle and inform the king about the real situation.

There was no goodbyes. Thanks to Christopher's last act, Pierce will soon be turned into Vice-Admiral and take the old place of his late friend who was declared deceased in the battle.

Pierce stood up from the bed and wearied of only staying in the room, he walked slowly to the front yard.

* * *

Two young women, a blonde woman who was 18 and a brunette woman who was 19, walked to the barn in the O'Gregon's land. The blonde named Elizabeth didn't look pleased as she followed the brunette who didn't hide the enthusiasm on her face expression.

"Katarina, I cannot continue doing this! Our parents might hear about your solo adventures and I get caught in lies! I don't want to be punished because of you! Women shall not visit any man alone! You know what they might say…"

"I do not care about what they say! Women are no objects or dolls to be slaved by any man! Women do deserve to have friends and that's what I am going to do… to visit my friend! I do not see any problem visiting a friend" the brunette woman shrugged

"I must repeat, women shall not visit any man alone!"

"But I am not going to visit Any man… Pierce is my friend and Everybody knows that!" she gasped, "Actually, everybody knows how friendly I am! People like my presence and I have a good reputation because everybody knows I am not doing anything wrong by having friends!"

"People don't say that to your face, but I've heard some people commenting about you and Fleming were too friendly…"

Katarian gasped, "Fleming and I were getting to know each other because our parents wanted me to marry him… I only took the time and the mood to get to know him better because I cannot marry Any man!" she cleared her throat and laughed, "And he proved he was not good enough to be my husband! Oh and he died, right? I would had hated to be a widow by now!"

The blonde-haired woman rolled her eyes in disgust, "This should not had happened! Women shall belong to one only man and that man is her husband, I don't know what you need in a man to make you happy..."

"I totally agree with you my little sister and that's what I am doing… looking for my man and only belong to him since I know what I need in a man to be happy."

Elizabeth gasped, "Did it include sleeping with Fleming?"

Katarina laughed loud, "Lovely sister just go get the saddle quickly. I intend to return before the sunset!" she ordered keeping a large smile – smile of cynicism

"I wonder how many men have you slept with…" the blonde spoke as she walked away

"Just ask the people who talk shit about me. You have not heard of any men I have slept with! And Fleming, well… what can I say? People just spoke shit because they knew we were "engaged", despite I do not see it that way, but they needed to cite the most obvious, huh! Did they ever use the word Sleep?"

"Not really and no one has used that word about you, sister… But I think that as your sister and confidante, I do get concerned about your reputation and of our family's. I don't like when people talk those things about you"

The brunette smiled kindly, "I know you do care about me and I do care about you too, but you might get used to that because people will always talk shit about anyone and everyone. This is people's, this society's thing!And you and any one else cannot change that. So just ignore it! If me as the subject in matter do not care, why will you? It will only age you faster and waste your beauty!" Katarina spoke as they finished arranging the saddle on the horse

The blonde smiled looking down, "You're right! But… Will you sleep with Pierce too? Have you forgotten Christopher?"

The brunette rolled her eyes laughing, "Do not say it 'too', it is rude even if you are my sister."

"Will you?"

Katarina exhaled, "You meant 'marry' Pierce, right? You have to express yourself better my lovely sister" she smiled and the blonde exhaled, "Who knows… we are friends for a few years, so will see… and about Christopher…" she took a long sigh, "I still love him, but now that he is dead, life goes on! Maybe Pierce can give me the happiness I so want" Katarina rode the horse

"You'd better be careful with that sister… if our parents know… I don't know what else to tell them…"

"They will not if you do not say anything! Just imagine that I am your big sister and I have the obligation to teach you things, and how can I teach you something I do not know? That way you will free your head from all the nervousness of answering to their questions!" she replied smiling and then ordered the horse to move

Elizabeth O'Gregon watched her adventurous sister disappear in the land. She sighed with a concerned look. She only prayed that Katarina will never be caught in her twisted ideas.

Katarina arrived in Northman's land by the lunchtime. From afar, she spotted Pierce sitting on a bench and called him. She was wearing a long green dress in noble fabric, her long curly brown hair and fair skin made her seemly to glow from afar. She got Pierce's attention and he walked slowly to her direction to greet her.

There was something wrong about himself. He felt weird as she smiled at him in such different way, as if in a flirting way? That was wrong! He knew she seemed to have feelings for Christopher and he respected that despite his own feelings for her. He wasn't the type of man to take a friend's woman, well at least not a living man.

As days and weeks passed, Katarina's behavior towards him had changed significantly. She demonstrated interest in him and more attracted he felt for her, however he had mixed feelings about the whole situation.

She belonged to a noble and wealthy family, a family that was close to the king. He was a royal officer. They belonged to different social classes and he had doubts about her family accepting their marriage.

 _Katarina O´Gregon's early education was typical for women of her class. The perfect woman courtier. Her carriage was graceful and her French clothes were pleasing and stylish; she danced with ease, had a pleasant singing voice, played the lute and several other musical instruments well, and spoke French fluently. A remarkable, intelligent, quick-witted young noblewoman. That first drew people into conversation with her and then amused and entertained them. In short, her energy and vitality made her the center of attention in any social gathering. She "revelled in" the attention she received from her admirers._

 _Her academic education was limited to arithmetic, her family genealogy, grammar, history, reading, spelling, and writing. She developed domestic skills such as dancing, embroidery, good manners, household management, music, needlework, and singing. Katarina learned to play games, such as cards, chess, and dice games. She was also taught archery, falconry, horseback riding, and hunting. She had been of average height and she had a slender build with long curly and thick black or hair, dark brown eyes, a definite wide mouth with slim lips, and ideology's complexion for that time. She was considered to be brilliant, charming, driven, elegant, forthright, and graceful with a keen wit and a lively, opinionated, and passionate personality. Katarina was depicted to be "sweet and cheerful", drinking wine, eating French cuisine, flirting, gambling, gossiping, and hearing a good joke. She was fond of the occasional game of bowls. Yet Katarina also had a sharp tongue and a terrible temper._

* * *

Angelique was sleeping in her room when she was awaken by the sunbeams illuminating her face through the partially open curtains reminding her that the new day had arrived.

She had finished doing her morning hygiene and changed her clothes. She walked to her guest's room to check on him as part of the routine they already shared. He wasn't there. He was nowhere in the house. She knew he was a morning person and looking at the window, she could tell she had slept more than she should, so it won't be a surprise he could be doing some external home chore.

She walked over the kitchen and read the note he had left on the table. On top of it a pink rose. Her favorite. She couldn't help the smile forming in her lips. She loved the little gestures of his care for her. A part of his gratitude she thought.

She was having her breakfast when she heard loud knocks on the door scaring her. Surely wasn't Christopher as she recognized the male voice calling her name. One of the brothers of her stepmother.

"So this is the place where you've been hiding?" she could notice the mock tone in his voice

"I'm not hiding. It's no secret I stay here whenever I want"

"You've stayed away for too long. It's dangerous for a lonely woman not having any man's security at her side…"

"I feel more secure here than in the snake's nest"

He laughed at her sarcasm, "whether you like it or not may I remind you that you belong to the snake's nest since your beloved mother died. They don't want you, a single woman, ruining the family's reputation. You want to live in your own house, get yourself a husband and give yourself some dignity!"

"You're no one to tell me that. Now please, leave my land. You have seen I'm safe and sound, so tell them they don't have to worry and shall congratulate my absence in their precious house!"

"I didn't come to check on you. I came to retrieve you." He spoke taking her forcedly by the arm

"Let go of me! I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"You will not stay alone here either!"

"Legally it's not!"

"To hell the law! I'm not going anywhere with you, you're nobody to obligate me! If they want me back, they shall wait my own decision!" she yelled pushing him

"Stupid bastard child!" he shouted slapping her on the face, "For me you can burn in hell!" he yelled giving her his back and hurrying to his horse

Angelique watched the angry man leave as she caressed her face. She could feel it burning, probably it's reddish. Paralyzed, she cried. She cried in anger, she cried in fear. She hated that submissive condition women were forced to live. Marriage, besides death, was the only option to escape. Although, in her point of view that option won't be so freeing as she wished. It will be only a switch of authorities. In the place of her father, she will have to obey to her husband. What a shit!

However, marriage didn't seem to be an immediate "solution". There are much better female candidates out there. Women who can be good housewives. Prettier women. Communicate women. Richer women.

Angelique didn't see anything close to that in her appearance, in her personality. She hated wearing makeup, actually she didn't even know how to use that. She was thin, average height. Probably the only thing she liked about herself was her hair.

As the angry man disappeared, Angelique closed the door and went to wash her face. Her day was ruined. Her mood was ruined.

She heard a noise. Her eyes widened in scare. The hurrying steps getting closer. Will she have to go through another dispute? She took a deep breathe preparing herself.

"Angely? Are you there?"

She recognized the male voice – Christopher's. she exhaled in relief.

"Angely? What happened?" he asked in concern, noticing the red mark on her delicate face, "I was taking woods and saw a man leaving in a horse. Who was he?"

She tried to disguise her apprehension, inevitably looking down, "He's the brother of my stepmother."

"What did he do to you?" he asked touching her chin gently as he lifted her face to him, searching for her eyes. The eyes of truth.

"Nothing…"

"Angely, don't lie to me, you can trust me!" he spoke with a warming tone

Ah his touch, his gaze. No other man had been so friend and kind to her. So supportive. Such a gentleman. So caring and respectful. Strangely, the world seemed better when he was close to her. The life felt better when he was around. She never felt so good with a man before, reason why she isolated herself from any male approach or flirting.

"He didn't do anything…" half of the truth, "he just wanted to take me back 'home'" her voice trembled. She couldn't call that place Home.

He looked down in sadness. She could feel the coldness on her skin as his warm fingers left her skin.

"But I'm not going anywhere" she added after a swallow. He looked up at her. he couldn't hide he did like hearing those words, but as soon as those words seemed to be a consolation, the hope was doomed when she added, "At least not for now"

That was the reality. None of them belonged to that place. It was temporary, a season. A season that was extending without their control. A season that prolonged and intensified the growing warming feelings in their hopeless hearts. Hopeless hearts that united in the water, in that lake at an almost-like heavenly shore. Fates that united a few weeks prior to that gray day.

That night none of them could sleep. In separate rooms as always. The distance and emptiness they shall adapt very soon.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review :D**

 **In this chapter we were introduced to two important characters of the story, Katarina and Pierce.  
Pierce Northman is Piers Nivans in the 17th century.**

 **Katarina is actually the third main character of the story and time will tell her real role in everything.**

 **I hope you liked the chapter and I still don't have much to say in this initial chapters. Thank you for taking your time to read my work :D**

 **and Stay Tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.**

 **A/N:I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

The birds chirped announcing the arrival of the new day. Welcoming the sun. Flying from tree to tree, from tree to the ground. The warm breeze of the end of the Spring announcing the Summer.

Angelique opened the curtains and stayed at the window of her bedroom admiring the beautiful scenery she loved about that house in the "middle of nowhere" according the others' opinion– her stepmother and father.

The contrast of the beautiful Nature's work contrasted with her inner mood. Since the unpleasant visit of her stepmother's brother, she seemed to have lost part of her positive mood. She hated that. wasn't that enough to have lost her mother?

She looked down in sadness and sighed. Will she ever be happy or free? She wondered. Being submissive to her father's dominion alongside his witchy wife was slowly taking the best of her.

Marriage seemed to be the only way out. But who will marry a clumsy and boring redhead like her? she did have talents, but men usually didn't like that in a spouse. Women cannot be independent and thrive on their own.

Unless you find a more open-minded man – the rare ones- and she didn't seem to have such fortune. In fact, she was used to her disgrace and dark future as if she ends up marrying to leave her father's negative influence and submit herself to another man's domain and wishes. Surely she will not have the luck to find a good man who will fall in love with. A man that will like and accept her the way she is and love her back. No. that will not happen to her. Her misfortune is what defines her fate.

It was still early morning, the sun was rising between the mountains and the crystalline water reflected its shine as the same time some of the lake's depth was revealed in a glorious magic.

However, that was not what really captivated the young redhead woman's eyes. It was him – her guest, the 'fugitive' – Christopher Reed swimming naked in the lake shore. She could feel her cheeks burning and most probably, they were very red. She had never seen anything or anyone like that before. Much less a man!

Curiosity, awkwardness and excitement got the best of to keep her so attentive to every detail in that muscular man's body. He wasn't fat and his muscles were evident. She liked that. She enjoyed her view despite not being so sure if she could be doing that. Right or wrong. Spying? She just couldn't stop looking at. Admiring from afar. He didn't need to know that, right?

She laughed a bit and hid herself behind the curtain. A few seconds later, she looked through the curtains again. Her attention didn't stay for long as her eyes widened when they spotted the man's full frontal as he left the lake. She blushed again closing the curtains immediately and took some deep breaths in hope he hadn't seen her.

She sat on the chair and waited. She heard his moves, noticing he had gone to his bedroom. She opened the door to leave hers. The scare took her off guarded as Christopher opened his door again. Her eyes immediately focused on his bare chest. She avoided looking down until she realized he was wearing pants. A slight relief. His nakedness was still fresh in her memory. She blushed again.

"Are you alright?" he asked

She nodded, "Yes. Why do you ask?" she tried to disguise her nervousness

"You look different…"

She laughed, "Different how?"

"I don't know…did you have contact with a member of your family again?"

She shook her head in denial, "No. I think it's just your imagination"

He shrugged lifting his eyebrows, "Maybe…"

She cleared her throat, "Do you need anything?"

"Yes, a clean towel. I was about to get it"

She walked away slowly, "All right…Now I'm going to have breakfast and do my chores. Will you want breakfast too?"

"Yes, sure. I'm going to change and will help you with the wood"

She smiled in agreement and turned around without saying a word. Christopher watched Angelique walking away. He knew it wasn't anything from his imagination. Surely he will not force her to tell him anything, but he couldn't help but staying intrigued. She was a bad liar, but he found her cute. Unconsciously he smiled as she disappeared in the stairs.

* * *

 **O'Gregon Castle**

Spring was considered to be a beautiful season by many people due to the beauty of the trees and colored plants. The fruits season, but along with it the heat and the rains come too. But for Katarina Spring and Summer were not her favorite seasons as due to the weather change, her allergies came along and she hated her nose because of that change of climate and pollen. Not to mention the sweat of the heat.

Her luck was to have a doctor friend named Vladimir Talbot. He used to attend the high classes and mainly the king. He was favorited by him due to his wide knowledge and improvement in his techniques as he used to travel a lot and learned important cares with the Chinese.

The allergies were not an obstacle nor an excuse to not take care of herself and keep the beauty routine for Katarina. Her vanity was a keen trait about her and she made sure to always look beautiful even by staying home. All the pampering had good results for her as it helped in her getting whatever attention she needed and special favors from the male side

In her bedroom, Katarina was assisted by her maidens to help her get dressed and wear makeup. She chose a beautiful long brocade pink dress, gloves length to the forearms, heels and a white and red umbrella and perfume.

She was climbing down the stairs when she met her father on the way.

He looked at her with a serious face, "Where are you going?"

"I am going to see my doctor, Vladimir"

He looked her up to toe making a face, "Do you need all that just to go see a doctor?"

"You know I do!" she answered convicted

"Won't it be easier if he comes to attend you here?"

"I cannot barely breathe! Cannot wait for his availability… Why are you questioning me? I am not doing anything wrong for going to see a doctor when you know I have allergies during this season! You should be used by now…"

"Are you sure you are not going to see another man?"

She laughed, "What are you talking about? You are not making any sense to me my beloved father"

"I have heard rumors about your conduct with that knight…Pierce"

She exhaled smiling, "My lovely father. I am a woman whom gets attention wherever I go without even doing anything. People get jealous and talk shit about my persona" she laughed, "You shall ignore that and be used to all the people talk. Pierce is my friend and you know that!"

"They say he has feelings for you"

"So what?"

"So what is that he's not a man for you! I've heard he had other women and as a man I tell you he has other intentions with you and those intentions are not allowed for a woman of your class who shall marry a Duke in the least…"

She rolled her eyes, "I am not a whore father! Nor a child! I know how to defend myself and Pierce is just a friend to me!"

"You are still a woman, Katarina! Some men don't deal well with rejection and he'd better never touch you otherwise he will be a dead man!"

"But he has touched me father…"

"What?!" the man widened his eyes in perplex

She couldn't help her laughter after seeing his face, "When we shook hands father! Will you kill him for being a polite gentleman?" she spoke jokingly

The man exhaled angrily at her play, "You know where exactly I'm referring!"

"It is exactly where I want him to touch me and more…" She thought smiling, "Yes my father I know and you do not worry about it, and your lovely daughter here will only belong to a special man! Now I should get going before I run out of air, excuse me!" she spoke smiling and left the man without even looking back

"Bon sang! what century is that are we living when women cannot choose their ideal partner! I do not belong to this period and I cannot stand such retardment!" she thought frowning in disgust, "Of course I can belong to only a special man, but as long as I have not found the right one, I will continue my search but that does not mean all of them will have me!" she spoke to herself as she headed to Vladimir's in a hurry on her horse

* * *

"Mademoiselle Katarina O'Gregon. What brings the lady's pleasant visit?" the blond, blue-eyed tall man and fair skin asked with a large smile as he watched the brunette walking in.

"I need special and quick treatment for my allergies. I have big plans and allergies shall not be an inconvenience" she replied as she sat on the chair

"What kind of plans exactly?" he asked in curiosity as he sat in his chair

She rested her back crossing her arms above her belly, "You know I have a close friend and I will need some of 'those covers' too"

He frowned and exhaled biting his lips, "So the rumors are true?"

"What rumors?"

"You and that knight named Pierce… getting friendly…" he replied nearly rolling his eyes

She could sense the displease in his voice tone, although she pretended she did not notice it his expressions, "Not so far… He is hard on the fall and is a man full of principles…"

"Although still a man! Just push a bit harder…"

She smiled in agreement, "Yes, which is the reason why I need the sheaths"

He laughed, "It's funny you having to use your last strong card again… If my memory won't fail, he's the second man that seemly rejects you"

She rolled her eyes exhaling bitterly, "He has not rejected me! I know he wants me and he confirmed it, but his stupid principles get in the way!"

"What about Christopher? He didn't have such principles and rejected you the same way!"

"Christopher is dead! And he did not reject me… the mistake came from my part as I took longer to make a move and then when things were about to settle accordingly, my parents screwed all the progress up when they arranged my marriage to that moron Fleming without my consent!"

"A moron you used sheaths…" he couldn't help the irony in his tone

She beat her hands on the wood table, "Shut the hell up you bastard! You have no rights in talking to me that way!"

"I'm your doctor and I have kept your intimate secrets with me! I'm still the one who lies to your noble parents when I have to report about your 'health'…"

She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, "You are well paid for that!"

"Yes and it's about time to get some adjustment. You are aging, your parents are concerned about your marital status and the rumors are increasing… I'm having to increase my convincing skills to assure them that their adorable daughter's flower is still intact…"

"You do not need to use the cynical route with me. You want more money I will give you! I am certain that the poor do not keep you running and my contribution helps you keeping the luxury that does not belong to you" she spoke in sarcasm and a mischievous smile

"Money is not the only way to pay bills…"

She laughed loud, "I advise the scumbag to not take that route with me! I still have a very special card in hands and I am absolutely certain that I can convince anyone else with my artistic roots that I have been attacked by my doctor or anyone else!" she spoke mischievously, "And the king… Ah the king! Such a great friend of my family's and mine! He will not tolerate any harm to his innocent petit."

The blond man remained in silence. He knew Katarina was fierce enough to sustain her words or threats. However, she should know better that she didn't need to use those words towards him as the real price for his silence was already keeping his lips sealed. His feelings for her and in name of that he could never do anything that will harm his petit night-blooming cestrum.

* * *

As days passed, Angelique seemed to have hid herself into a shelter. She was running out of time and the sadness occupied her sensitive heart. She had to return to the nightmare and hell of life the next day. But what hurt her the most was to leave behind that genuine man.

He had never disrespected her or tried to cross any limit of interaction, somehow much to her unhappiness as he had made her feel things she never felt before. She couldn't explain whatever she was feeling for him, she only knew she liked him a lot and wished they could stay safe in that house forever.

Because of him, she had written several poetry texts in her diaries. Because of him she had crazy dreams about them, but at the same time it was scary.

He was an older man. He was 4 years her senior and had many experiences she didn't have. He had travelled, met other cultures, other lifestyles, he lived at the court of Bohma. While she was just a stupid young unexperienced dreamy woman with a dark future.

He had made her feel that she could have a different faith. Although that could only be possible if they stayed together

Stay together, she and him? What a stupid and crazy idea! Christopher will never look at her with a man's eye. As a wife for him. She doesn't the class for that. She doesn't have the appeal for that. His respectful and kind way towards her was only due to his gentleness.

She could never be like those classy and fancy women of the court. Beautiful, smart and wealthy. The best candidates to be the wife of a man like him.

It was already late night, Angelique could not sleep and after moving restless in the bed, she stood up and walked to the window to admire the clear night sky full of stars. Inevitably, she cried as the phantoms haunted her. The last night in paradise. The last night in safety. The last night in peace. She saw a shooting star and made a wish. A crazy wish, but full of hope.

The life in the countryside was calm, simple and relaxing. A lifestyle Christopher Reed was learning how to enjoy. A life so different from the tumultuous, annoying and intimidating of the court. It was all about the king's wishes most of the times and following such authoritarian prerogatives used to be boring and tiring, although he adjusted his frame of mind and convinced himself that there was a higher cause behind all that. Somehow, there was.

However, spending most of his time dedicating himself to battles, politics and the king tended to bring the loneliness, the doubts, the questionings. He still was a young man and surely, he wanted more. At the same time he wanted to make a difference in the world, in the other hand he wanted to start a family, to settle down.

And that was a way more difficult task to achieve. He did meet several women, some were pretty, some were kind and most submissive. There were "women's of life" who were fun but didn't serve to be housewives or didn't deserve it. There were the classy women and noble ones, but those used to be very annoying most of the times. With exception of Katarina O'Gregon who was beautiful, entertaining, had a strong personality, an independent spirit and demonstrated a passionate personality that some times used to confuse him about what kind of woman she could really be or what values she really had. He liked her determined way, but her temper could be easily turned into arrogance and he disliked that in a woman.

Perhaps he was a demanding man and because of that, he was willing to sacrifice his settling down dream because he hadn't found any woman interesting and good enough to suit his ideal type until he met Angelique.

She had the traits he looked for in a woman. She was beautiful, kind, polite, skilled, funny and independent. She knew how to count, read and write. However, it was her simplicity that captivated him.

Since the day of her announcement to go back home, things had changed between them and more exactly inside him. He wanted but didn't know if it will correct to open up his feelings for her. He was aware he was attracted to her, but her way to be was also an obstacle for him and that used to bug him at times.

And since that day, a strange distance grew between them. Angelique seemed to avoid him and didn't treat his nearly healed wound like she used to. She only limited herself to prepare the moisture and told him to pass himself. He hated to hear her crying in the middle of the night and feel powerless to console her.

"Tomorrow I will return home"

He felt the outcast with that statement. He was aware he needed to find a new shelter. Probably it wouldn't be so difficult as he had some other abilities and didn't mind starting over in a new place. However, something else spooked him – to be recognized.

He didn't know how the battle had ended. He didn't know how the others reacted to his disappearance. Staying in the countryside had that advantage or disadvantage – depending on the point of view – of being deprived from fresh news and gossips. Not to mention the lake house situated in a more isolated area. No close neighbors. Good to hide, bad for help.

Angelique had finished harvesting while Christopher was cutting the wood. He heard footsteps approaching the stable. His eyes followed the redhead carrying a basket to feed her horse.

He wished he could help her. Free her from her abusive family. He watched her talk to her horse. Sing to him. The calmness. Her heavenly voice. Her heavenly presence. Her heavenly perfume. Her simplicity. The complete opposite of the court where the real snakes live. What a beautiful voice but so saddened.

Suddenly a crazy idea crossed his mind. The only thing that might save her from her slave life.

She left the stable and saw that tall man watching her seemly paralyzed. Their gazes met and inevitably and weirdly, they smiled in synchrony.

Walking over to him, she took an apple from the basket and offered him. Their fingers touched causing an electrifying shiver in both of the bodies. It felt so good. Butterflies in the stomach. She missed his touch, him so close. She will miss his protection. His safety. His presence. His magnetism.

"I'm going to prepare the lunch" she spoke with a smile

"Angely…" he held her by the wrist

She turned to him. Their gazes met again. This time there was something different. She could tell that but not what

"I don't want you to go…home" he spoke almost in a whisper

"We already talked about it. You don't have to worry, you can stay in the house. Like you said it will be good to not stay abandoned"

"It's not the house that concerns me… but you"

"I will be alright. From time to time I'll come to visit you"

"I don't want to see you from time to time…"

She made a face of not knowing how to react or to say. Speaking… she hated that. She didn't have that skill either. She was better in writing.

He held her grip and knelt down in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock. Her mouth opened remaining mute. Her heart was starting to accelerate.

"Will you marry me, Angelique Stafford?" he kissed her palm gently and looked up with eyes full of hope. He could impulsive – yes, he had that trait. That wasn't planned or staged. He only followed his heart. His emotions were about to explode. He couldn't keep his feelings in secret anymore much less now they were going to be separated. He needed the risk of giving her a reason to stay or maybe to come back soon enough.

Their hearts were about to jump out of their chests. Her eyes widened and legs trembled as if she could join him on the ground at any moment. Her mouth was dry. Her voice chords failed. She was shocked and could not believe what she had heard.

He watched her trying to read every muscle in her face. Every sign of hope she could give him. He knew that was unexpected and crazy, but her silence was a torture. Wrong timing? Possibly! However, he didn't care! He needed an answer even if the answer smashed his heart.

"Angely?"

She choked, "Yes…Yes…" her face demonstrated several signs as she struggled among the smile and tears and surprise all at the same time.

"Yes? Will you marry me?" he asked again. He needed to be sure

"Yes, I accept marrying you"

He stood up in happiness taking her into an embrace. Their very first tight embrace. They were so close. Their hearts separated only by the layers of their skin and the fabric of their clothing. He wrapped his long arms around her thin waist. She felt small but so good to be is his arms. Her arms laced his neck. He felt big but so good in the safety of his embrace.

There was no kiss, no first kiss. Yet, a special day.

That time things were very different. Intimacy progressed slower despite the commitment. The matter of marriage was different. It was a matter of State. A matter of family. They wanted to do things the right way. The difference was that she was the only one with a family to require permission.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review :D**

 **First of all, did the proposal seemed rushed? Maybe or maybe not, but according to my research, back then people did marry "quick" and young. Of course this doesn't mean it was a rule, but generally people lived less, they needed heirs, so marrying their children at tenre age was not a problem. However, that didn't mean that after a tenre marriage the young couple would consummate their marriage. Marriage was more of a contract than a real love bond. Surely, there were marriages for love.**

 **And in the story Christopher and Angelique are young people, and the ones who have passed that age know and might relate that back in our "teenage" days we had intense feelings about everything. An idealistic mind and falling in love seemed to be the oxygen of our lives and broken hearts were seemly a death sentence, but in the end we survived (there are exceptions of course!). And then we learn how to recover faster from deceptions as life goes on. Experiences teach us every time with lessons that in many cases we might need a lifetime to learn, however it's a fact that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.**

 **With all that said, it's true that Christopher and Angelique have a love bond that will continue to be built, so take in account that they live in a different period of time "dating" was something different, it was courtship and that surely could take a while and differently of nowadays. And also, usually marriages were arranged, especially in the high classes.**

 **I don't know why I said all that, now that I stop to think that even nowadays we do find people who marry quicker than them xD Now the fashion is moving in xD and it's funny people still treat each other as boyfriend and girlfriend even if they live under the same ceiling for years lol**

 **There's a lot to happen in the story and I hope to really write a good love story, I mean, that I can develop it more beautifully.**

 **Sheath is how condom was called back in those days.  
Bon Sang means Geez, according to my reasearch.  
**

 **Now less but not least...**

 **Stay Tuned! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.**

 **A/N:I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **O'Gregon Castle**

The whole O'Gregon family was reunited at the table having lunch as the usual. They rarely skipped the habit of eating together. The patriarch looked enthusiastic and waited all the members to finish their meals before speaking out the reason of his enthusiasm.

"Tomorrow, all the women shall dedicate themselves to house cleaning. I want it to shine like gold!"

"What's the special occasion, my father?" Elizabeth, the younger daughter asked in curiosity

The man smiled, "The day after tomorrow the Duke of Northwest will come to meet Katarina. He is very interested in her as her impeccable reputation goes ahead of her"

"What? Won't you ever give up forcing me to do what I do not want?" the brunette girl protested angrily

"Sit down, you're losing your manners" the man spoke in a disapproving tone

"I will not sit down, I am not a dog!"

"Katarina, I will not say it twice!"

"Me neither! I am sick and tired of you trying to control my life! you know how much I displease that disgusting old man and still you are about to force me to meet him without even previously consulting me?"

"I knew you'd be against it, but you have no word. Women have no word against a man's! the Duke is a highly influenced man and as rich as we are. It's a great deal! Not to mention he's old enough so you won't need to tolerate him for too long…" he shrugged

"Introduce him to Elizabeth then! She is the perfect doll to obey whatever you say or any other man!"

"The Duke chose you!"

"I will not meet him!"

The man stood up angrily from his seat heading to the brunette's, merciless he slapped her on the face, "Katarina. You passed all the limits of education and tolerance. You Will obey to whatever I say as you still live under my command!"

"I will never forget that slap!" she spoke bitterly. Hate could be seen in her brown eyes that seemed to get darker after that.

"I will not either!" the man replied with the same intensity, "You will meet the Duke and will marry him whether you like it or not!"

The brunette didn't back down and immediately stood up staring back at him defiantly, "I die before that!" she spoke bitterly walking away and hurrying to her bedroom

The man grumbled. His enthusiasm was destroyed. He looked at his wife as if blaming her for Katarina's behavior since it was women's duty to take care of the children's education. She looked down in sorrow.

Elizabeth was scared with the whole situation and when she was allowed, she left the table and immediately went after Katarina.

"What are you doing?" the blonde asked as she entered the large room and took notice of her older sister standing before the wardrobe and throwing her clothing on the ground

"Packing!"

"What?"

"I will run away from this torment. I will not meet that disgusting man!"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"I will if I continue living here!"

"You cannot do that!"

"I have done many things women are not supposed to… this one will be just another addition to the list"

"But now you can be executed!"

"That will be great! I will join Christopher earlier in heaven and we shall be happy forever after!"

"Please sister, don't ever say that again. I'm sure you will find happiness soon"

"Not with the Duke!"

"Sister, the Duke might not be as bad as you think…"

"You are absolutely right…He is worse! He is ugly, fat and stinks! No wonder why his marriage did not last that much… I am sure his wife died of disgust!"

"Shhh! Don't be so mean to her memory!"

"I am not mean, I only spoke the truth!"

Elizabeth sighed in frustration, Katarina will never take back her spoken words and watched her older sister keep some of her gowns into a leather bag, "Where will you stay?"

Katarina huffed, "Anywhere but here!"

"Does it mean Pierce?"

The brunette let out a heavy sigh, "I do not know where I will stay and I do not think Pierce is an option after all the rumors being spread!" she spoke with assurance. But the truth was that she couldn't count on her little sister's fearful personality and could be easily pressure to open her mouth on such circumstance

"This is too dangerous…a woman alone out there…"

"Stop it!" she shouted, "I am not like you and I can take care good of myself!"

The blonde woman looked down in sadness. She wanted to help, but she was too scared that time and decided it was better for her to let her sister on her own luck.

* * *

 **Countryside, Lake House**

She couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't stop thinking. Those words. That moment. Angelique Stafford still couldn't believe what had happened. Was that real? If she was dreaming, she didn't want to wake up ever again, despite all the fear and insecurities running in her. She could not believe she was having the chance to live a better future. She wished she had her mother and grandmother with her, giving her advises of wisdom, but no… she was alone. She is alone in the world. Fear surrounds her and not rarely consumes her.

However, Christopher made her feel secure and accepted. He supported her in anything. He was serious, right? Or was just he too grateful for had his life saved?

"What he meant by marrying, I don't know exactly. I think he meant I will have a ring to wear on chain, which I can show to publicly and that we will be promised to each other? Or are we exchanging gifts that will confer some magical quality of a possession of one another? Or will I wear a garter that will be hidden under my clothes and no one knows about us?

Now that I think about it, I really am flooded by doubts and I'm not sure if I was right in saying Yes to him. I thought courtship was something different, but well… we live together for a few months and this is so wrong! Maybe he's considering this time as courtship… is he?" she pondered without taking notice that the food was starting to burn in pan. When she realized she let out a scream and quickly worked to try to save the meal left

At dinner, Angelique was eating in silence. Quitter than the usual. Christopher occasionally watched his beautiful fiancé wondering that the reason of her silence is her farewell the next morning.

"Christopher…" she broke the silence with a low tone. He looked at her, "May I ask you something?"

"Yes"

She looked hesitant. Her feet were shaking under the table, she searched the right words in her mind to express herself in a proper way as she didn't want to make him feel offended by her question, "I don't want you to have the wrong idea and don't feel offended, but I need to ask this…"

"I won't. Just ask me"

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise!"

She bit lips letting out a long sigh, "Ehh… Are you…what- what exactly did you mean by marrying me? Proposing to me? I… I never had a courtship before but I wondered that things happened in a different way…until marriage proposal…" she spoke in between stutterers

Christopher couldn't help the laughter. Was that the real reason why she was so quiet all this long? She was really cute to his eyes.

"Why are you laughing?"

He cleared his throat, "Don't take it personal, but I didn't expect this question in such way"

"I need to understand"

"Yes, of course and you are right in asking"

"So why do you laugh?"

"Because you spoke in a cute way and I adore your cute way"

She made a face of not really sure of how to react to his statement

"I know you are inexperienced and I'm not that much experienced as you may think" he made a pause with a thoughtful expression, "but yeah… thinking better now I think I was too impulsive in proposing to you, but… I really mean that! I have feelings for you for quite some time and you are the woman I always dreamed of to be my wife. We do get along and I thought that if we get married you would have a chance to escape from your abusive family. My hearts hurts when I hear you crying in the middle of the night since that dark visit…"

She liked hearing those words, but she interpreted them in another way, "So you're trying to save me?"

"And to love you" he added with conviction

"I'm too young for you"

"So what? I don't see any problem with that. You're not a child anymore"

"I'm not, but it's weird… it's weird and it feels like we have skipped some steps…"

"Angely, it's not like we are getting married tonight, but I want you to know that I do have real feelings for you and I do believe we can be happy together. Until the wedding day we will have time to get to know each other and cut this distance that we still have between us in name of courtesy or politeness or ethics… I agree it was sudden but I believe that you can learn how to love me if you allow yourself…."

She looked down smiling softly and with a warming tone, she replied, "Loving you won't be difficult when I… I myself also have feelings for you"

He smiled… He smiled the angel's large smile as her words sounded like a beautiful song to his ears. She had feelings for him too and she kept them hide all that long without ever demonstrating its existence. Or did she and he was slow to catch up? It didn't matter. Their feelings was reciprocal and a bright future seemed to be forming. His soul was full of hope and he will wait for her as long as needed. A challenge to stay apart, especially now that he lives a new lifestyle away from the battles and court.

He wanted to hug her again in happiness. He so wanted! However, he didn't want to scare her again with another impulse act, so just corresponded to her happy but contended and shy reaction. Although, later that night he couldn't help himself and before parting their ways to their rooms, he kissed gently the back of her hand, which was enough to make her blush like a tomato.

"Good night, Angely"

"Good night, Chris"

* * *

Katarina rode her horse as fast as she could, noticing the weather changing by the end of the end of the day anticipating the night. Some cold rain drops touched her delicate skin causing her shivers and despair to reach her destination after running away from her home like a prisoner escaping from the jail, covered by a black cape trying to be as much invisible as she could and not be recognized in the streets and now the long road surrounded by tall trees. The sudden rain drowning out all other sound, sifting through the branches and forming mug puddles on the ground, lightning brightening the sky, the loud noises of the thunders welcoming the heavy rain. Soon after, she smiled at the sight of the familiar house and her only hope for a shelter and hideout, the Palace of Northman.

She knocked the double doors. Her body trembled in cold and after a while, she noticed the door opening.

"Pierce, please, I need your help!" she spoke with a begging demeanor

Without thinking twice, the young man let her in and immediately handled her a dry towel, "What happened?" he asked in concern

"You are my only and final hope!"

"Just tell me what happened"

"I need you… I need you to give me a shelter. I ran away from home!"

"What?" he spoke in perplex

"My father once again was about to force me to do something I do not want and without consulting me he… he scheduled a meeting to a hideous man the day after tomorrow!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"The Duke of Northwest"

Pierce didn't know what to say

"Pierce, I cannot marry that gross man! So please, help me!"

He stuttered, "Kat, I cannot do that! You know men and women only share the same house after marriage or during secret meetings at night on the woman's house…"

"For God's sake, forget the damn society's stupid puritan's rules and listen to my despair! Be empathetic once in your life about my pain!" she spoke breaking into tears

"I'm listening to your pain but can't you see that involving me can kill the both us?"

"Nobody will know I am here! I was too careful and no one saw me!"

"But they might look for you here!"

"Pierce! Look at the weather outside! Do you really want me to leave and get sick to death? Is that how you show me your love for me?"

"Our love is impossible Kat! Your father was very clear about that!"

"It's just until the Duke leaves! Please! I love and I cannot marry any other man but you! " she fell down to her knees in supplication holding his leg tightly

The young man passed his hand on his hair in nervousness. Surely he did want to help her and free her from the marriage arrangements her father insisted, but as a vice-admiral, he should be an example and be the one applying the rules.

He shook his head vexed. Divided between love and duty.

"Nobody will know and I will not stay here forever! You said there are secret passages…if anyone looks for me I can hide in there."

He let out a long sigh, "Please, stand up"

"Only if you tell me I can stay…" she replied looking up

Her begging eyes were too much for him to bear. A different woman like her humiliating herself at such level was too much even for him. For his principles and personal codes. He never thought he would ever see Katarina O'Gregon so submissive.

"Please, I beg you!" she pushed more

Defeated by her insistence and his own feelings he exhaled, "Only for tonight because of the weather…" he spoke with a nearly failing voice. Who was he lying to? A day or more days would not make a difference anymore.

Katarina smiled largely and immediately stood up to her feet. Without any warning, her arms enlaced his neck and she planted a long kiss to his lips. Completely surrendered, he corresponded to the kiss warmly. He loved her lips, her kisses, her caresses. He knew her sweet side, her soft side.

The kiss progressively increased as Katarina moved her tongue into his mouth. A wet kiss. Pierce's body started to react in a different way. A way that still hadn't been crossed by them and surely not without attempts from her side. Katarina had a fighter that demanded a phenomenal strength from him to not surrender and burn into the flames of her love. Question was, for how long he will resist?

* * *

The next early morning Angelique was arranging her belongings in her bedroom. After a long restless night, "the day" had arrived. She was in countdown to return to hell. Mixed feelings. A part of her was sad, really sad in having to leave her estimated house. Another side of her was glowing for being in love for the very first time. She had a long trip ahead. She had finished placing her belongings on her horse when she heard Christopher's voice.

"Angely"

"Yes" she turned back to him

"Were you leaving without saying goodbye to me?"

She smiled awkwardly, "No of course not… I just didn't want to disturb your sleep"

"I was waiting for you to call me as you know how worried I am about you going alone…"

"I told you it's not necessary. It's a short trip and I'm already used to the road. I will be in town by the sunset"

"That's a long trip!"

"No, it's not… it's just that I will walk slow enjoying the landscape before reaching the hell…plus by the time I get there I won't need to face many people because about that time they tend to be locked in their bedrooms"

He sighed in frustration, "I wish there would exist a way for you to tell me you will be safe"

"I will be safe! I promise I will return in a few weeks to check on you" she smiled kindly in attempt to assure him

He smiled softly, "There's something else before you go…"

"What?" she asked

He put his hand into his pants pocket, took his uniform's scarf and gave it to her to symbolize he will be with her whenever she is and a proof that he did belong to her.

The redhead girl could not believe it and helplessly tears of emotion formed in her eyes. That was the seal of the exchange their commitment provided as she rather borrowed her house to him and now she had a part of him with her.

She smiled happily, as she thanked him for the gesture.

There was a different vibe in his gaze. He looked at her with a warming way that made her heart burn and her body temperature increased in a weird but good way.

He took her grip as he pulled her to him slowly. Then, he placed one hand at her waist and the other caressed her cheek gently. Slowly he leaned over his face close to hers. They could feel each other breaths. He so close. They were so close like never did before. She couldn't move even if she wanted. She wanted to anticipate his next move, as if she could do it. An unknown ground to her, even though exciting. She had dreamed many times about this moment and practiced in her own hand in secret.

He approximated his face according to her permission. An unknown field for them, in the sense that they had never been there before with each other. Although he knew how it felt like kissing someone, that was a territory he didn't explore that much either. However, an unknown ground to him, as he had never kissed with love before.

Eyes closed. A kiss of love. Their lips finally touched. Soft. Warm. Kind. Her first kiss. Their first kiss. He could feel her inexperience and he was understanding. Patient. Slowly guiding her. Slow gentle moves.

They separated for a brief moment to look each other's eye. She smiled blissful. There was passion in his light brown eyes. Eyes honey-like he had. She had never noticed that before and so close. She kept every detail of his face in her memory before their eyes closed and their lips danced again. Still weird, but comfortable. A delicious act before her departure. He knew how to be remarkable.

"Angely my love. I will so miss you!"

"I will miss you too, Christopher my love"

 _She so wanted to stay…_

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review :D  
**

 **Thank you everyone who has been reading and following the story, your support is huge! :D**

 **I hope you liked the chapter and slowly we get to know more everyone.**

 **I really have studied a lot to portray this fic's background, of course I won't say it will be very faithful to reality, after all... it's a love story! xD and I'm really trying to write a beautiful tale here and use elements I haven't used before or that are not my forte and that's why I'm developing everything slower than my usual.**

 **However, I must tell that by December the schedule might get a bit slower because of my real life education. I won't stop updating or writing! But I'm not sure if I will update regularly weekly if I don't manage to write spare chapters during the next two weeks. I really hope I can, but I can't promise :(**

 **Four young people in love in a time that interactions were so different. I'm sure there are still places like that nowadays, but the point here is another. The** **predominance of the old-fashioned way of love and date.  
**

 **It's been a challenge to portray that, but also a good lesson!**

 **Let's see what happens next and Stay Tuned! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.**

 **A/N:I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains hints of sexual language.**

* * *

And now it was all an agony, a struggle. The longing, the long waiting days. Since Angelique returned home, the lake house lost its brightness, its warmth, its coziness. The beauty of the surroundings only served to bring more loneliness. No neighbors, no people, no movement except of the Mother Nature when the birds' chirp, the water flows, the wind making the tree leaves dance.

Everything in the house seemed to remind him of the presence and absence of Angelique, especially the decoration. Her paintings hung on the walls. Such beautiful work. Paintings of Nature. Paintings of people. Paintings telling a story, those were her favorite ones.

As days passed, all they had to do was to wait, secluded in their own internal fantasy. In their own memories. Struggling with the external influences, their stories. He struggled with the war memories and the scar on his abdomen always reminded him of that fatidic evening.

Angelique avoided leaving her chamber and face her stepmother's mischievous comments about her "disappearance". Her father had scolded her for staying away for so long all alone, it wasn't good for his reputation which led him to made up excuses.

No matter what they said, she didn't care this time. There was a new power inside of her, the power of love. That power gave her strength and courage to tolerate those lonely days. In her bedroom she started a new drawing and his scarf – her scarf – with his scent inspired her and kept his memory and "presence" so vividly in her heart.

She could still feel the touch of that man's lips. Her lover's warm and soft lips. She still could taste him in her mouth. On her skin when he touched her face.

Isolated in her chamber as the usual, this time she had the company of her sweet memories and to ease her blooming feelings, she wrote. She wrote a lot. Several texts, several poems. Letters. Longing letters. Drawings.

Every time she heard someone coming to her chamber, she made sure to hide the papers and diary. The good side of being isolated and submissive was that she could serve like a guard to all her belongings in case anyone could peek.

* * *

As days had passed, the climate's increasing temperature announced the arrival of the Summer. The king of Bohma proved to be a strong ruler as his territory had expanded since the victory over Edonia. To celebrate the most recent conquer, he decided to throw a big gown party at the court and invited closest friends and his kingdom's allies noblemen and their families in a gesture of gratefulness for their commitment with the Crown. He ordered his servants to prepare the best accommodations for his foreign guests and the life at the Bohma's court was tremendous agitation.

However, at the court and at the closest city surrounding the main royal land, it was the royal party or the weather that was the hot topic among the inhabitants, but the absence of the noblewoman Katarina O'Gregon who hadn't been seen in several days right before the arrival of the Duke of Northwest and prominent future husband to the most beautiful single lady in town.

Other women envied her, as she was the one chosen by the Duke. His brilliance and power only lost to the king's, however, it wasn't rare the king uniting forces and request the Duke's knowledge and advices for many subjects.

Noblemen and women wished they could be chosen to wed by the Duke's heirs and the most ambitious women wished they could be chosen by the Duke himself and inherit a prestige close enough to the queen's.

Katarina was the chosen one and strangely felt sick and was isolated in a property of her family that nobody knew how to locate which only reinforced the rumors that she once again was a run away bride.

The Duke knew about her constant declines for marriage arrangements and that intrigued him. Surely he had seen portraits of hers in few paintings. She was beautiful, but it could also be a trick of whoever painted those and such cases weren't rare to happen.

If she was the beautiful woman he had seen in paintings combined with her family's high influence, demonstrated to him that she was a demanding woman who couldn't bestow herself to any man and she had the right to do that. Her good reputation was across from her about her skills and personality. Her youth added points to her vivacity and he liked that. He felt powerful enough to tame such enchanting woman.

Despite the initial disappointment after learning the news about her sickness, he trusted her father's statement and patiently waited for her to recover. As a good friend to the king, he decided to stay in town for a longer period and participate of the gown party.

Pierce was leaving main hall of the castle after a meeting and walked his way to leave the castle and go to church as it was an important religious day and he wanted to dedicate a part of his memory to his late friend Christopher.

When he reached the main gate, he took notice of a carriage and a familiar face. The woman had a short light straight brown hair. She wore a dark blue dress and carried a toddler while her maiden held the umbrella to protect them from the sun.

He walked to their direction to greet them, "Clary Reed?"

The woman turned around and smiled greeting him back, "Pierce, it's been a long time!"

"Yes it is, you haven't changed anything!"

"Oh I did have change, I'm a mother now and Mrs. Bouchier" she spoke with a playful way

"And you look great! Congratulations!"

"Thank you… what about you? Have you found your fine lady already?"

He giggled, "No I haven't yet, but I'm not looking for any right now"

She laughed a bit in disbelief, "Maybe it's because you found and is not telling me…"

"What?"

She winked, "I know you Pierce for a long time!"

He stuttered, "I don't know what you're talking about…"

She simply smiled

"So what are you doing in town? I thought I'd never see you here again"

She inhaled and let out a sigh, "If that depended on me I'd never had returned to this place, but my husband couldn't decline the party invitation, so here I am… we are"

"It's good to see you again. It's good to see a familiar friendly face"

"Yes, that's true. And how are you dealing with everything? They say you saved the kingdom"

He gasped, "I didn't save anything. Christopher did! It's because of him I'm here…"

The woman shared the same saddened gaze. The conversation was leading to a sad ground, but somehow it could be better to discuss with a known and close friend and Pierce was that one. The court was a dark place for her, a place of mourn. She had lost important people there. She had lost her first husband and recently she had lost Christopher. She still mourned her cousin's death and the court only reminded her that there was the last place she would ever want to be.

"At least he died for his cause. A good cause" she spoke after a sigh

"I'm going to church to pay him a tribute. Will you join me?"

She nodded in agreement and talked to her maiden giving her instructions. Pierce looked at the opposite direction as he saw the imposing Duke coming to the castle's entrance, most probably for a new conversation. The fifty's man stared at him with a non-friendly expression and then the guards let him in.

At the cemetery, Pierce and Clary visited the graves of their late families' members and they were the only ones to visit the empty grave of Christopher. Silently they paid their tributes to him. After a while, they left the location and walked back to the castle. When no one was around them, at distance they saw the carriage that belonged to the Duke leaving. Clary could not hold herself anymore and ended up commenting, "If I were you I'd be careful with that old man"

"What are you talking about?" Pierce turned to her making a face

"You don't have to lie to me and everybody knows about the rumors of you and Katarina…"

"Those are not rumors, but huge lies!"

"Pierce, I know you always had feelings for her. I remember the way you used to look at her…"

"She loved Christopher!" he spoke in denial

"Christopher is dead and she's still young…and beautiful…rich…"

"I don't give a care for that!"

"I know you don't, but that doesn't change the fact that you have feelings for her and she's single..."

"She's not that single and the Duke is here to meet her. I know I don't have a chance with her, so I don't understand why you say I should be careful with the Duke"

"Just because if I know about the rumors… he does too! I saw the way he stared at you earlier"

Pierce let out a long sigh

"Wherever she is, he won't leave until he meets her and that's why you have to be careful wherever you're hiding her"

He gasped and turned his face to her frowning, but when their gazes met, he couldn't really disguise it. She could read him like the palm of her hand. He trusted her and knew she would never turn him in.

* * *

A few more days had passed, Angelique was in chamber painting in the middle of the night when she felt thirsty and left to get a glass of water. She was walking towards the stairs when she passed in front of her father's chamber and heard voices.

"I think the best solution is sending her to a nunnery."

"Why a nunnery?"

"Because that's her essence! Have you noticed how too collected she is? She's not feminine or gracious. Some male candidates had complained about her and she has said she doesn't want to get married… in my opinion the best solution is sending her to a nunnery. You cannot support her for the rest of her lazy life! Not to mention that if she continues disappearing that way, people will talk things that will be very unpleasant and you don't want our family to go through that, do you?"

"You have a point and she does like helping people…"

"Exactly! She's not a marriage material but she can be useful to god!"

"I will talk to her first and give her another chance to get married"

"Why do you insist so much in a trait she doesn't have?!"

"Because she's my daughter"

Angelique listened to their conversation in silence. Tears cored down her face. She couldn't go to a nunnery, not now she had learned and feel love for a man! Before Chris she might had accepted the idea of being sent to a nunnery. Actually, that was one of the things that had crossed her mind to escape that place. She had believed she wasn't born to love or get married.

And now… now she was engaged and loved the one who was waiting for her at their safe place. She walked back to her chamber in silence and hoped her father could listen to her plead at least once in her life.

* * *

 **Palace of Northman**

The cool weather of dawn slowly gave space to the heat as the sun opened in the sky of the morning of the gown royal party day.

Katarina had a terrible night struggling with allergies and heat – but not the typical heat. There was a quite a while since she had started her game of seduction with Pierce. She had never felt rejected before, unattractive.

Pierce spent most of his time absent and whenever little time he could dedicate to her, he built a wall between them. she thought that living in the same place would be easier to make him share the bed, but it was actually being harder. Which led her thinking if he really did love her like he stated or if he did like the same fruit as her.

They did kiss and sometimes things increased between them, but he always managed to stop any further progress. That wasn't the case with Christopher. He was slow to be seduced, but he didn't stop any further progress in the only nightstand they shared before her parents ruined her plans by engaging her to Fleming.

She did try to arrange her marriage to Christopher, but her father was completely opposite to the idea of her marrying a knight.

 **Flashback**

"I love him, father!"

"He's just a knight! You can take better than that"

"He is a good man and can love me like any other man could!"

"He's just an opportunist that wants easy money, your properties!"

"He does not need my properties, he already has his own!" she yelled out

"Katarina he is a vassal!"

"I love him!" she shouted

"Love is a pathetic idea you have read in those books you collect! You were born a noblewoman who shall 'love' and marry a prince or a king! And shall we end this conversation! I will not allow you to marry that man and you must get ready because in a few days you will meet your future husband who is a member of the royal family and become Mrs. Fleming!"

She cried a lot that night, revolted. The next day she visited Christopher to inform him the bad news.

"I do not want to marry Fleming. My love is you Chris and I do love you even more after that day!"

He swallowed at the mention of that event, "We shall forget what happened…" he spoke in a nearly dry tone

"You released your flame in me, told me I was unforgettable and now you say to forget that?"

"That was a mistake"

"Mistake?" she spoke in horror looking at his seemly-embarrassed face, "I do not want and will not forget we made love and you liked!"

"Of course I did… I'm a man! And you…"

"And me what? Do not dare blame me for something You wanted too! I never forced you to do anything!"

"You didn't force me, but you didn't make it easy to resist… don't you dare denying your flirts and special treatments!"

"I do not deny my love expressions for you because all I did was for loving you and not because I am a whore like those ones you are used to!"

"I never said you are a whore!"

"But you were about to say it!"

"I wasn't! I just said that you and I are responsible for whatever happened that led to that love making… it's a mistake that won't happen again"

"You'd better pray that I am not expecting your child already!"

He swallowed dryly at the thought. Another reason why it surely had been a mistake.

"Why making love to the one you love is a mistake?" she gasped

"Because your father said so! You now belong to Fleming and shall respect him as your future husband."

"I will not marry Fleming. I die before that!" she spoke bitterly

 **End of Flashback**

She didn't die, but Fleming did. She didn't kill him, but she couldn't deny that somehow his death was a relief to her fate. She did try giving herself a chance to be happy with him, but he just wasn't good enough and didn't make her happy or pleased… like Chris did.

In only one night, Christopher proved he was the man she looked for, the man she desired, the man she could love with all the love she had in her body and soul. He proved he had more qualities than she could've had asked for besides what everyone knew about his good character and position in the society.

What they had was perfectly described in one of the books she had read by Andreas Capellanus in De Amore: " _It is the pure love which binds together the hearts of two lovers with every feeling of delight. This kind consists in the contemplation of the mind and the affection of the heart; it goes as far as the kiss and the embrace and the modest contact with the nude lover, omitting the final solace, for that is not permitted for those who wish to love purely... That is called mixed love which gets its effect from every delight of the flesh and culminates in the final act of Venus._ "

As a knight, surely he had moral codes and demeanor to follow and she didn't see anything wrong about that. He did serve the king and Bohma with his heart, but he was also a man willing to love a woman like no other royal family member, prince nor even a king could. Fleming, the man with royal blood, proved that theory of hers. She was willing to fight for Christopher's love and take him back for her, but before she could accomplish that, the stupid war ruined her plans.

Now living the post-war phase, all she had was Pierce. He was handsome, more handsome than any other husband aspirant arranged for her and the second most handsome man in the land – the first was Christopher, at least in her eyes. Pierce, the man she always knew seemed to have had feelings for her for years, but didn't prove it to her like she expected. Were those feelings real or was just a way for him to pretend to be what he wasn't?

Lost in her wonders and drinking wine alone, she didn't notice how late of night it was already. She only noticed when she heard a noise coming from the entrance door and immediately hid herself for a few seconds until she realized it was Pierce returning from the party. How soon there was she thought?

She walked to his direction to greet him. There was something different about him. He seemed pissed or something, but well, normally he seemed that way – she laughed inwardly.

"You're still awake?" he spoke as he hang his coat

"I cannot sleep when you're not home"

"I'm sorry for that"

"You do not have to sorry for… I am the one who stuffed here…"

"That's true indeed and I tell you that the Duke won't leave until he meets you, so you have no other option besides returning home and marry him…" he looked down at the mention of her marriage thought

"I cannot marry that man! You have seen him and confirmed I am not exaggerating when I say he is disgusting and not a man for me to love!"

He shrugged, "His shows otherwise. The court women are all agitated with his presence. Some even want you to die so they can be chosen"

She laughed, "I prefer dying too instead of marrying him and let him touch me!" she spoke with shivers of disgust and aversion

He didn't like the image too and after seeing the wine bottle on the table, he stood up to get a glass and join her in the drinking. He wanted to forget that man's words to him at the party, "You're not man enough to deserve a woman like Katarina. Your plebeian roots prove you're not a man for her and never will be. You only got this position because Christopher Reed died. He was more of a man than you pathetic vassal!" that old man knew how to humiliate him, he was angry, he was mad at him and himself for had listened to them in complete silence in respect to the king and not start a commotion.

Katarina dropped discreetly let the glass of wine on her chest and dress and made a dramatic scene. Pierce willing to help her took a handkerchief in attempt to dry most of the liquid on her clothing. She made sure to lean further her cleavage as he passed the fabric on the lower part of her nightgown. He ignored her cleavage as much as he could and delivered the handkerchief for her to dry herself.

"The sun will soon be bright outside. I can wash hang it outside to dry faster. I am absolutely sure this will work!" she spoke

"Yes and what do you intend to wear in the meantime?" he smiled only with one side of his mouth and looked at her from head down

"Nothing!" she thought marveling the look he had given her, "Hum, you could borrow me something to wear such as a nightgown since I only brought this one… or even a clean towel, robe or a sheet…"

Pierce was a bit hesitant but she was right. She needed something to wear. He asked her to follow him to his chamber, retrieved a robe from the wardrobe, handed it to her, and left the chamber to give her privacy. However, little while after he closed the door she called him.

"Pierce, here"

Pierce's jaw opened a bit and there was no way to disguise his eyes looking up and down to the perfect feminine silhouette standing before him.

Katarina smiled discreetly enjoying the success of her plan. The shivers on her skin surely made her appeal even more delightful as his eyes looked directly at her busts' level, but she still couldn't celebrate. The strategy wasn't over yet. She wanted him closer.

However, things didn't go exactly as she expected when she heard his voice as he grabbed the clothing from the ground still keeping some distance, "I'll hang it myself"

"What the hell?! You surely do not like women!" she spoke bitterly

Pierce was standing, his eyebrows lifted, he licked his lips. There was no way he could disguise his eye looking up and down at her exposed naked body.

"What face is that Pierce? You seem like you have never seen a naked woman before!"

"It's not that! I have never seen You naked before…"

"Because you have been a fool!"

He swallowed hard ignoring looking down her waist level as much as he could, but the vision of her naked and trimmed body was already glued in his memory. Her south area was trimmed! That was intriguing for him.

In the other hand, Katarina finally took notice of him and seemed delighted watching his under reaction, she was sure he was enjoying what he was seeing. His south was pointing to the north and she couldn't help the large smile on her face.

Pierce finally returned to himself, "Are you sure about this? You know this will change things between forever and this could be wrong…" he asked throwing her clothing back on the ground

"More than anything… There nothing wrong in loving each other…" she spoke in a seductive way as she stepped closer to him

"Kat… I…"

"I am a woman who seeks love and have all the love to receive and give to you…the chosen one! How can you say no to that?"

"You're not any woman!"

"Of course not… I am a woman who loves you with all my heart and soul…" she pushed him to her into a passionate kiss as she played with his south, "Now only my body needs the love…our love…What is wrong? Loving each other?"

"Yes! Before marriage and remember we are not allowed to get married!"

"Just because the society said so?! We will not be the first or last! You know there is a huge difference between rules and reality… Do not they say that women shall bear children? How to discover that without the proper experiment? She spoke in a seductive way as she travelled her hands on his chest under his shirt

"What if you get pregnant?"

"I guess that is the only way our marriage will be allowed just because of reputation!" she spoke in between kisses

"Kat…" his steady voice

"Shall we love each other, Pierce?"

There was a plead in her voice tone he could not resist any longer. Surrendering to his basic instincts, his feelings, his hands travelled around her body. Her skin was so soft and warm. He guided her to his bed laying her down in it with her belly up as he prompted himself on top of her while their fierce kiss intensified and they both were lost in the hot ocean of their lust.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review :D**

 **And I decided to change the rate to M right before publishing the chapter, just in case... I don't know if what I wrote is still in T rate, but well...now it's done and maybe now I can feel more free xD xD**

 **I thought the chapter would be shorter, but I guess it's not. There's a lot happening lol  
**

 **Dang, I thought I had updated longer ago and not two days ago LOL xD**

 **Let's see what happens next...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	6. Chapter 6

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.**

 **A/N:I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

The sunbeams of the morning passed through the curtain illuminating the sleeping naked bodies lying on the bed. Katarina's face was resting on Pierce's chest. She had woken up first and watched her new conquer sleeping soundly with his belly up. She observed every trace of him with delight. His white skin, his messy spiky brown hair, his perfect eyebrows, his perfect nose, his perfect jaw line, his pink thick lips – ah his lips! She smiled at the good memories and sensations they caused her.

She hadn't regretted for any second about the long wait he made her go through. She obtained what she wanted. She didn't envy the other women he might had had anymore. He was hers now and she certainly will want to repeat their lusty moments even after her marriage to the disgusting Duke and, hopefully, he will not last long so she can be free again and finally get the so wished independence she longs for.

Pierce is a perfect substitute – of Christopher- and surely, he acquired more affection from her after their previous night. Undoubtedly, she might even learn how to love him in a different way. To love him more than just her sexual _jouet_ \- toy.

Pierce woke up as he felt her caresses on his chest and abdomen. Her delicate hand travelling his skin felt delicious and caused him shivers. He opened his eyes and turned his face to look at her. Both smile thrilled like they were waking up to see the angels of heaven.

"Good morning love" she greeted planting a kiss on his lips

"Good morning my love" he replied with a sleepy voice

"Did you have a good sleep?"

He smiled from ear to ear, "The best, you?"

"Likewise"

"Now I won't let you leave and marry that scumbag!" he spoke rolling over to her

She smiled largely, "So what do you have in mind? Running away?"

"No, getting you pregnant"

She laughed loud, "What?"

"You said that if that happens, it might give us the permission to get married due to reputation matters…"

"Yes, I did say that"

"Won't you want to be the mother of my children?"

"Yes I do but not for now"

He groaned, "Now you want me to wait?"

She laughed, "Yes, it seems that way, right?"

"I don't want that man or any other touching you! I can't stand the thought after last night!"

She made a face, "But you know that decision is in my father's hands and he chose the Duke who has chosen me because of my reputation"

"I don't think he will keep you if you end up pregnant with my child" he replied and nibbled her neck causing her shivers

"Maybe I got pregnant with your child last night… maybe not…" she spoke making a face

"Practice makes you pregnant and that's what we will continue practicing…"he replied with a naughty expression and kissed her passionately

She didn't contest. His lips and touches put her in a state that her mind couldn't really think or stop what her body enjoyed. Giving herself entirely for him again for countless hours until she would have to return home at her own will. They both were lost and immersed in the ocean of pleasure and whatever bond they were creating wouldn't stay forgotten and progressively stayed marked for eternity.

Time had passed. His smile was from ear to ear. No one had never seen Pierce Northman with such contagious enthusiasm and for so long. Always seen with a serious demeanor man and temperamental at times, watching him in such good mood seemed to have only one explanation: a woman.

Pierce had been called by the king. On his way to the king's chamber, he encountered the so called Duke in the hallway. Inevitably, the men stared at each other not seemly to lose sight of each other. They crossed paths and Piers couldn't help the laugh when passed by the serious old man who had previously mocked and insulted him several days ago.

"Who are you laughing at?" the old man couldn't help the question as he felt insulted by the younger man's rude attitude

"Au revoir!" Pierce replied with a mischievous large smile, continuing his walk to the royal chambers ignoring any sound the old man might have been done. A bittersweet delightful victory. Pierce couldn't help the thought.

* * *

Katarina inhaled deeply as she prepared herself to enter the land of her prison. Not a home anymore. The maidens and servants welcomed her back happily. Fortunately, her sister was the first family member she encountered. That way she could be updated in the house's atmosphere and prepare herself for any tricky questioning.

"My beloved sister, you're finally home!" the younger O'Gregon hurried towards her welcoming the brunette with a tight hug

"I wish I could speak and share the same enthusiasm…"

"Did you miss me?"

The brunette woman smiled warmly, "You were the only one I truly missed, my little sister!" she caressed the blonde's face, "I am so proud of you!"

"You were right in not telling me where you have been"

"I know you my beloved honey-like sister and I'd have been a terrible sister if I told you my hideout, but now, you have to tell me how the things are here"

"The Duke is still in town waiting you to recover from your sickness. Father made it out and the Duke didn't demonstrate any reprehension about it. He decided to patiently wait for you"

Katarina sighed rolling her eyes, "Did he see you?"

"Yes"

"And?"

"And nothing. He wants you!"

At distance, Katarina spotted her father and mother coming to their direction, "Respond quickly, am I going to be exiled or something?"

"No, I don't think so. Your duty is to marry the Duke and father most probably won't permit you to go out alone anymore"

Katarina exhaled heavily as she prepared her ears for infinite lectures from her parents. She was back to prison and the habits of that time limited her actions and reactions.

As expected, her father scolded her more than enough, reminding her all the time her misbehavior and how bad daughter she had become. As punishment, he prohibited her to leave their land and never stay unaccompanied even at home.

A noble prisoner, but only as long as she would allow that. When things got calmer, her father told her about the lie he had told the Duke. She pretended to be surprised and a couple of days later he set up the meeting day and when the day arrived, and as Katarina had been educated for, she acted graciously and with politeness as expected of a woman of her nobility despite the river of sludge coring inside her.

"I am stunned by the beauty of the young lady. As a matter of fact, the young lady is even more stunning than the rumors and portraits. I am no less than mesmerized by the enchantment of my future wife. The wait to meet her was worth it!"

Katarina forced a faint smile. It was the marriage arrangement of dreams to everyone else. To her, it was a slave arrangement, taking her to a new prison in chains. Outwardly, she was everything a well brought up girl should be. Inside, she was screaming. She used all the education and emotional control to not snapping out when the grotesque lips and beard touched the delicate skin of her hand causing her shivers of loathing and despair.

She had survived that meeting, making sure to keep the Duke away from her. While the old man discussed the wedding details with her father, Katarina travelled in her memories – the sad and the sweet ones – as an escape to keep still and with a china made demeanor.

"I have to go on a trip. We shall marry when I return" the old man spoke with a gentle tone, bringing Katarina back to reality

Katarina nodded softly with a faint smile and for the first time with real interest. That trip would be all the time she will have to set her plans accordingly and avoid her dark future at the side of that man. Her brilliant brain wouldn't stop machinating all possibilities. Time was now in her hands.

* * *

The days without Angelique proved to be lonely and boring as expected and for an active man of action that enclosure was a torment. After finishing the home chores, Christopher explored the nearby areas and always kept himself in alert in case of any uninvited visit at the lake house. He always concerned of being caught, so he walked miles observing the area to look for a place where he could keep a second hideout.

Angelique had told him about a nearby small village of peasants and in order to feed himself or buy things for the house, he provided some of his skills work in exchange of money or food and goods. He had never been there which was a good thing, as there wouldn't have the danger of being recognized.

"Hello"

His heart pounded, frozen and almost had spilt the beer when he heard a female voice by his side one day at a tavern before returning home.

"The good-looking man might want some company before taking the long road again"

Christopher turned to the side after the scare and saw the beautiful blonde woman of long hair, wine dress and a very exposing cleavage smiling seductive at him. She was a beautiful woman, but from her behavior, he knew what kind of company she was willing to make to him.

"Do you mind if I take the seat?" she asked with a seductive tone

He looked quickly at his bottle still filled with the liquid, "Yes I do" he replied avoiding looking at her

"Waiting for someone in particular?"

"Yes I am"

"Well… no one has arrived yet and that doesn't mean we can spend some good time together in the meantime…"

"I'm not interested in your services" he spoke dryly

"I'll make you a special price…"

"Not interested!" he replied almost in a harsh tone

The woman didn't insist any longer and Christopher made sure to finish his beer before any other would try to hit his nerves again.

Differently of the majority of the men's behavior, Christopher was the type of belonging to only one a woman at a time. The problem was that he had had only one commitment prior to Angelique and the other women he had was during his singlehood. Not that he had many either as missions and duty took most of his time. However, in his mind, he wasn't a free man anymore and should respect their commitment that in fact he had started.

* * *

Days had passed since the night Angelique heard her father and stepmother discussing her future. The following day was one of the hardest ones she had to go through. Sleepless and under nervousness waiting for the conversation that didn't happen due to her father's laboring absence again, she considered running away again to meet Christopher and tell him her parents' plan, however, her stepmother made sure to stop her.

 **Flashback**

"Where do you think are you going?"

"To where I always go"

"You are not going anywhere!"

"You're no one to tell me anything!"

"I am your father's wife and I have the power to turn your miserable life in true hell such as taking your precious hideout from you if you continue misbehaving and opposing me!"

"You don't even like me! Why do you bother in making me stay at the same place as you?"

"Because differently of you, I have a good reputation to care and don't want to be known as the stepmother of a whore"

"I'm not a whore!"

"No? Who is this man?" the woman questioned looking at the drawings over the table

Angelique swallowed and stuttered, "I draw random people and you know that!"

"There are several drawings of him… he seems special!" the woman walked examining the unfinished painting taking notice of the similarities with the young woman's recent works

"Some works tell stories. That's why he repeats"

"And… who is he?" she asked raising one eyebrow

Angelique unconsciously looked away in distress, "I don't know" he voice almost failed

The older woman giggled. Angelique was a bad liar, "Is he the reason why you run away so often?"

"No! I really don't know who he is!"

"Are you bedding him?"

"No, of course not!" Angelique almost yelled as her face's light skin blushed

The older woman gasped, "Your blushing face and apprehension shows otherwise"

"You're seeing it wrongly… I can't believe you're thinking something like that of me!"

"Women at your age are already married and have children!"

"Not me! Now please, leave my chamber"

"You'd better not be lying otherwise your father will live in disgust and punish you!"

 **End of Flashback**

Angelique exhaled heavily as she remembered that day. In order to keep her composure, she postponed the visit at the lake house, praying everything would be all right at Christopher's end.

Ah! She so wanted to tell him the news and hoped that the man she loved could do something to prevent her stepmother's tricky plan to get rid of her. Angelique was a shy girl, but not a stupid one. She knew her stepmother machinated that so she could enjoy everything on her own and without having to share with Angelique.

Lost in her thoughts, she had a scare when she noticed her father opening the chamber's door, "Father, you're back home!" she greeted him politely

"Yes I am and I want to have a conversation with you"

"Sure!" she replied keeping her composure, trying as much as she could to hide her apprehension, trying to anticipate the subject, arranging herself on her bed

The man didn't even bother to take a seat or stay close to his daughter. There was always distance between the two of them and the man never demonstrated to want to change that.

"You are seventeen years old and has no prospects of marriage. I cannot raise you forever, so after reflecting for a while I have decided that you will be sent to a nunnery next year"

Angelique bit her lips squeezing her hands, gaining courage to speak out her disagreement. She shook her head in denial.

"I know you don't want it, but it's for your own good. You don't have many talents, or talents to be a good wife. I've heard about some aspirants' complaints about you, so I don't want to take the risk that you will be helpless if anything happens to me since we never know when our last day will be…"

"I am seventeen and not a useless old woman. Things are changing…"

"Yes, things are changing but not for women"

"I can't be a nun!"

"Yes you can. You love helping people!"

"That's not enough to become a nun"

"You will marry God"

"I can't marry God…"

"Why not?"

"Be…because…I…" she looked down in complete distress and cold sweat

"Because of what?"

She swallowed hard, trembling, sweating, her heart pounding in her chest, her throat seemly to be blocked, dry. She had never passed by such experience of breaking the news about a man in her life. Those sensations were all new and her father's rigid attitude didn't make it easy to feel somewhat comfortable or that she could trust his understanding. Although she had to speak it out. It was her last and only option to stand up for her happiness.

"Because I… I met someone…"

"You met someone… as in?"

"I'm in love with him… and he's in love with me too"

"What?"

"I can't marry God because I love a man"

The man laughed, "Are you serious about that?"

She nodded, "Yes. I'm serious"

"And who is the man?"

"His name is Christopher"

"Christopher what?"

She gasped, "I… I don't know…" she lied. She remembered Christopher's concern about the knowledge of his whereabouts

"You don't know?"

"I didn't ask… I forgot to ask…"

"You forgot to ask? Angelique…"

"I'm not experienced father! I'm still learning…"

The man let out a sigh, "Sure you are… and can he afford you?"

"Of course he can! He's a landowner" she lied again considering the possibility that her father could know Christopher due to their work

"How can you be so sure?"

"He told me…"

"Ah and just because he told you that, you believed?"

"I know he loves me father. He's a man, works hard and respects me. What else do I need? Don't you want me to be get married? Be happy?"

"Of course I do! Your wellbeing is my concern"

"So that's why I can't be a nun. I want to marry Christopher and I ask for your permission to do that"

"Christopher himself should be the one asking me that"

"He will!"

"He might to! Otherwise I will not give you permission to marry a liar and opportunist!"

"Christopher is none of that! He's a man of great honor!"

"Where does he live? Or you don't know that either?"

"His land is in a province at the north of Bohma, in a village nearby the king's main land."

"Where did you meet him? Is he the reason why you run away so often?"

"No, of course not! But I admit that I met him during my recent runaway…"

The man made a thoughtful expression and looked around at the unfinished painting, "Is that him?" he asked pointing out with his head

Angelique nodded in confirmation.

Outside the chamber, without anyone taking notice, Angelique's stepmother listened to their conversation. She had a mischievous expression and shook her head slightly as if she disliked their agreement and clearly had other plans.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review :D**

 **I don't have much to say this time, just that a lot is happening in everyone's life. Chris living the solitude and fear of being a "rebel" and prisoner of his own desperate choice.  
Angelique finally standing up for herself as the feelings of being in love gives people some abnormal strenght xD which can be a good thing and sometimes not...  
Pierce enjoying the good wave of his life  
And Katarina being Katarina!**

 **For people whom the wheel of life will turn soon...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.**

 **A/N:I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains hints of sexual content**

* * *

She didn't sleep that night. She was restless. She was thrilled. Angelique Stafford finally enjoyed the happiest phase of her life. The improbable was happening, she and her father finally agreed with something and shared a more proximate relationship than they ever had.

Mr. Stafford did really show interest in knowing his daughter's husband aspirant and told her to set a meeting.

Angelique waited two days before hurrying to the lake house; after all, she knew her stepmother was watching her behavior at home.

"Christopher! Are you there? Christopher"

His day routine had barely started, among the sounds of the broken wood and birds' chirp, Christopher seemed to have heard his angel's voice at distance and he couldn't believe his ears, wondering if that could be an illusion since a month and a half had passed since they had last seen each other. He hurried to the house's entrance and his eyes showed him the image he so waited and longed for, proving he wasn't listening to any illusion. Angelique had finally returned and without hesitation he ran to her direction, taking her into a long embrace and without thinking twice or hesitation, he pressed his lips warmly against hers. She did correspond to his touches by enlacing her arms around his neck and kissing him back. This time they seemed to recognize each one's moves and their mouths danced in a passionate kiss.

"Angely, you're finally back!"

"Yes my love, I couldn't wait any longer but I'm not staying for long. I need to be home tomorrow to not get any suspicion"

"I understand, but you know it's still early enough for you to get riding alone" he spoke with a tone of concern

"I know Chris and trust me, I never rode that fast before and I will give a long day rest to my horse, but I couldn't hold myself anymore because I have some good news!"

"What? Really?"

"Yes!" she replied with a large smile from ear to ear, while her eyes had a different glow

"So tell me!"

"My father wants to meet you"

"What? Really?"

"Yes love. I told him about us and he doesn't seem to believe much that there is a man willing to marry me. But I know he used to have this image that I don't have talents and am not a marriage material because he often listens to his 'loving' wife…"

Christopher gasped, "You have so many talents, I don't know how they cannot see that and I don't seem capable to understand why you don't show that to them either…"

She let out a long sigh, "It's worthless. Moreover, I don't feel the need to prove myself to them and I also know that they won't really pay attention at me. People only see what they want to see"

"Agreed, but there are things that it's unlikely to pass unnoticed… I noticed your talents"

She smiled softly. That was one of the things she liked about him, he noticed her. He noticed people. He noticed people.

"Thank you…But there's something else…" she made a pause as he continued looking at her, "But there's a little detail, actually some details I might tell you so you can be prepared"

"Alright, nothing is always roses… what's the but?"

She took some time, "I had to lie to him about your work… I feared he could recognize you by the name since he's a soldier too and in this country apparently everybody seems to know or have heard about everyone somewhere…"

"I understand and I don't think you made a bad decision…"

"You think so?"

He nodded, "Yes… but…there's still a chance that he might recognize me which can be troublesome if he ends up spreading the news…"

She frowned with disappointment, "Does it mean you don't want to know my father and have his permission?"

"It's not that Angely… of course I want to do things the right way! But I don't know if we can trust his discretion on the matter if he recognizes me…"

"Anyone might recognize you anywhere you go"

"Yes, I know. That's why I live in fear every place I go"

"Doesn't seem that way. According to your letters you go often to the peasant village…"

"Angely, what tone is that?"

She spoke walking away, "No tone at all. I'm just saying the truth"

"You seem a little harsh on that saying the truth…" he replied following her to inside the house

"I don't think he will recognize you…"

"How can you be so sure?"

She blushed as she remembered the painting she made of him, "Never mind…"

"No, now tell me!"

"Just for forget it…" she looked down walking away from him covering her face

He insisted following her, "I won't forget it. I can't stand when someone starts saying something and leaves it in hang"

"It's nothing Chris…it's just a feeling" she stuttered still dodging him. She was embarrassed for having drawn him without his consent

"A feeling? Why are you running away like that then?"

She turned around after a heavy sigh, "I'm not running away!" she almost yelled

"It seems that way"

She swallowed hard, "It's just that…ehh…I… I'm not sure of what to think about your reaction. I was so happy about the possibility of our marriage and now I'm not so sure anymore…"

"What are you talking about?" he had a puzzled expression

"For your reaction it feels like you were planning on marrying me in secret. Without any blessing or something…"

"Ah, no! Don't think that way… I guess I just hadn't thought about that detail yet"

"The detail named "my father"?"

He exhaled in distress, "The detail called 'run away from my previous life at the court'"

"I don't know what's so bad in that, sounds like you're running away from something from there… or someone…"

"You don't know how it's like the life in the court!"

"Of course I don't! I'm just the countryside girl who doesn't know anything about life and I'm about to be sent against my will to a 'better' but wrong place!" she snapped

"What? What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about? Different of you I have no secrets"

"I don't have secrets either!"

"It doesn't seem that way"

"Angely, what is going on with you? I don't know where this is coming from"

"What is going on with me? I'm just pissed that my stepmother wants to send me to a nunnery and you are concerned about being recognized by my father who gave me the only chance to change my fate!"

"A nunnery?"

"Yes!"

"You can't go to a nunnery and I never said our marriage will be a secret. It's just my concern of being recognized that just crossed my mind, but it doesn't mean I won't meet your father and ask for his permission to marry you no matter if he or anyone recognizes me!"

She watched him not knowing how to react or what to say. Either ways, she had mixed feelings and felt somewhat embarrassed, upset. Maybe she had overreacted; she did overreact! But she was sensitive with the whole situation, although now feeling calmer and after explanations, it didn't seem to justify her attitude and for the first time they were having a disagreement.

"I'm sorry if I made you think that way…" he spoke apologetic

She let out a long sigh, "It's alright. I reacted wrongly too and I owe you an apology as well." She took his grip speaking with a calm tone

He smiled softly pulling her to him, enlacing his arms around her, "I don't want you to go to a nunnery. I cannot let that happen! Just tell me when and where you want me to meet your father and hopefully we will be married soon"

"Yes my love, I hope so too!" she looked up smiling back at him

There was tenderness in their gazes. There was love in their gazes. They longed so much for that since her departure. They had dreamed about their reunion. Progressively they leaned closer their faces. Their lips sealed into a warming kiss, full of love, full of longing. They seemed more synchronized this time. There was no nervousness anymore. She felt safe again, into his warm embrace. She didn't even mind about his beard on her face, she was too busy enjoying their kiss heating up and the times she was trying to follow his mouth moves alongside his tongue. A new practice for her to improve. He didn't bother about her clumsy tongue kiss. He continued guiding her, tasting her mouth while his hands travelled her back and hair as he paired her against the wall.

Although, his male body seemed to be enjoying it too much and he could feel it growing in his pants.

Angelique didn't seem to be bothered or demonstrate any sign of resistance to her lover's evident enthusiasm. Morally she knew she shouldn't be allowing such advancement. Her curiosity and emotions guided her otherwise. Her hands shyly travelled to his neck and hair.

Oh, how much he enjoyed her delicate hands navigating his body. She definitely knew how to use her hands. Of course, she knew how to use her hands! Painting gave her touch a different sensation, a delicacy he had never felt, but an accuracy to ignite his senses and a fire burning between them as he rubbed against her.

Different of the court women's amount of clothing, Angelique's simpler gown allowed her to feel him against her even through the fabric of their clothes. She liked that. She was just a virgin and not a puritan. She liked the feel of being desired. The feel of "inspiring" her man and his brush. How she wished to be his screen! She didn't want to stop him. They were engaged, right? She remembered his naked silhouette and that memory made her face blush at the same time she could feel her fire burning between her legs. She moaned when he worked her neck, kissing, licking and nibbling it causing her shivers of delight.

"Angely…make me stop…" he spoke unsteady

"I don't want you to stop…" she whispered

"There will be no turning back" he whispered back

"Not looking for it" she replied with a fiery fire in her eyes that ignited his own burn. He took her in his lap as she straddled him and took her to her bedchamber.

"Make me a woman…" she whispered in his ear

(*)

 _They say losing virginity hurts, bleeds and only gets good with the practice. So I guess I wasn't a virgin then. I didn't feel any pain nor had any bleed, but it weird and uncomfortable in the beginning… But Christopher made me feel so wanted, so comfortable and secure in front him that… all I could think was how good it felt to belong to the man I love. How good it felt in the two of us being one. I'm not saying I acted like a pro because I'm sure I didn't! It was weird. It was different. He made me relax. He was so patient! He made sure to always be careful to not hurt me and his concern just made me trust him even more. Slowly, inch by inch, we became one… and everything I thought about my virginity has changed. The world hadn't changed. I still am me and I still find it funny looking at his frontal lower nakedness… I still need to get used to that! and I still have the habit to cover my own nakedness from him. How silly I am!_

When the sun came up that morning they woke up, still in each other's arms. Still in each other's embrace. They had spent the most wonderful night together. They moved just slightly apart and lay there in silence gazing at each other. That night was for them. A night with no worrying if someone was coming home or coming back too soon. Just for them to make love as long as they could, which turned out to be all night long. They both wanted each other and there was no holding back. It was long passionate love, no rushing- just pleasure, on and on, and on. It was sweet love.

The day looked brighter. The landscape had more color. The sky had never been so blue. The birds had never chirped so beautifully like a song. They lived heavenly moments. The young couple living the pink bubble of falling in love.

They smiled at each other, and said good morning, at the same time.

"Do we really have to get up?" Angelique said

"Yes, we do. I need to buy some loads and I want to show something"

"But do you remember I need to return home today?"

"Yes I remember that, but I don't think you will get in trouble if you return tomorrow"

"This time is different…"

"Your father won't know last night happened"

"My father cannot even dream this happened!" she snapped

He laughed, "I know! I was just teasing you" he leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose before leaving the bed to take a bath

Angelique stood up as well and headed to the front of the mirror, studying her reflection for some time. Nothing had really changed externally, besides one little detail. And no matter how much she tried to ignore that thought, but she feared her father or even stepmother could request a virginity verification. Once again, she had mix of feelings. Hanging between apprehension and delight. Christopher had made her a woman. A very happy one.

Christopher returned to the chamber and spotted Angelique looking at herself in the mirror. The sun passing through the window only made her look even more beautiful in her open white robe. She had a different gaze expression. She looked like an angel. A thought that made him smile in delight. He had never felt that way the morning after intercourse, not even with Katarina. Actually, remorse was the feeling he had the morning after with Katarina despite their lusty and wild one nightstand. Both women arouse different feelings and sensations in him.

Noticing she was being watched, Angelique immediately closed her robe not being capable to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Christopher laughed, "I've seen it all!"

"Yes, I know…"

"You don't need to hide yourself from me"

"Of course I do! I only lost virginity, it's not a magic to erase shyness! Oh and you should cover yourself too!"

Christopher couldn't help but really laugh. Angelique was still Angelique. So opposite to show-off Katarina, "Alright. I beg your pardon if my nakedness embarrasses you" he spoke jokingly

She laughed, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"No. just ask"

"I know that isn't new for you, but… I…I was wondering if you felt the difference… if there was any difference…" she couldn't help the stuttering

He smiled kindly, "It was completely different! I never felt that way before!"

"How different?"

"Everything was different… I never made love with anyone before. I felt like a virgin somehow…"

She gasped, "Oh come on! Don't come with that on me, I know I was the only virgin here!"

He shook his head, "I'm not talking about physical virginity my love. It's just that I never made love before." He tried to explain, but she kept her incredulity expression, "Angely, there's a difference between making love and copulate… I never felt the things I felt with you with anyone I have copulated previously…" he stepped closer to her pulling her to him, "I don't know how to explain that, but it's very different and way better!" he kept a warm tone as he caressed her face looking deep in her eyes with all the sincerity he could

Those words and his caresses only made her feel even more especial and a large smile formed on her lips that soon were covered by his own into a passionate seal of morning love.

One more time they became one. They did have to enjoy it as much as they could. There was no guarantee when they could repeat their lovemaking once she departed again. Although, before she could do that, she joined him at the visit to the peasant village to buy more loads and finally meet the surprise he had in mind.

* * *

The O'Gregon's women were travelling to Lake Province to meet the land the Duke had given to Katarina as a wedding gift. In their way, they passed through the village of peasants and made a quick stop at the shop commerce.

Christopher was arranging the loads on the horse when he recognized the carriage passing by and immediately hid himself. He followed the carriage with his eyes, studying its moves and at when it stopped, he spotted Katarina and her sister leaving it to walk in the commerce.

Katarina tried to as careful as she could where she stepped to not get her dress too dirty.

"What face is that my sister?" her sister asked

"What an unpleasant stop! This place is so dirty and… poor!" the brunette spoke not being capable to disguise her disgusted expression

"You shouldn't be like that. This is the life outside the court!"

"That is exactly the reason why I live at the court! Look at that dirt and mud! Look at their gowns!"

"It's not that bad. There are beautiful objects in the tents"

Katarina rolled her eyes, but soon look around. It was pointless continuing acting that way, so she decided to walk around and couldn't help the smile on her face when she looked at a particular tent and the male merchant in it

"I must agree with you my lovely sister! There are really beautiful and interesting things here…" before Katarina could think, she gave the man a flirty gaze, and he smiled back

The blonde O'Gregon couldn't help but rolling her eyes as she had noticed her sister's flirty demeanor and immediately poked her, "Stop doing that! You are engaged to the Duke!"

Katarina gasped, "Geez, if I complain you complain and if I stop complaining you complain too! dang!"

"If mother sees you doing that, she will start a scandal!"

"Of course not! I can say that I was just being nice to get more discounts! Use your brain my sister and stop being so correct! It annoys me!"

The blonde rolled her eyes, "So you're in your own. I'd better stop worrying about you. I just wish you're not digging your own grave"

"Get the hell out of here! Go away with all that negativity!" Katarina snapped walking away hurriedly

Angelique walked near a tent close to where the O'Gregon sisters were discussing. She could hear them. One of them had a clear strong accent in her tone. She spoke too correctly the words and as the curiosity took the best of her, she walked closer to see them better. She saw the blonde turning around while the brown-haired woman took the opposite direction with an upset expression.

Angelique followed the brunette woman with her eyes, mesmerized by her beauty and fine glowing pink gown. Her walk was classy, elegant. She was a charming woman and surely, she belonged to the court.

Finally noticing Chris' absence, Angelique walked to the same direction of the classy brunette. She didn't take long to spot Chris and called his name.

Katarina heard it and immediately froze, turning her face to the direction of the female voice and followed the redhead with curiosity. Katarina couldn't continue the follow as she felt someone grabbing her by the arm making her turn around quickly in scare.

"Elizabeth! Do not ever touch me that way again!" she scolded her younger sister

"We have to go. The coachman is waiting for us to leave"

"I cannot leave now!" the brunette spoke pissed trying to spot the redhead again, but it was too late and the young woman had disappeared in the crowd. She cursed.

"What happened sister?"

"I heard someone calling for Chris"

The blonde woman let out a heavy sigh, "May I remind that Chris is dead and you owe respect to the Duke now."

Katarina rolled her eyes for the lecture, "To hell the Duke!"

The O'Gregon sisters returned to the carriage. Katarina couldn't stop looking back searching for the redhead woman and in hope to see Chris. That was how Christopher preferred to be called.

Angelique found Chris near a cereal's tent, "Chris, why did you leave me alone like that?"

"I didn't have time to warn you. Sorry"

Angelique studied his behavior and didn't take long to realize his real issue, "Was it because of the court women?"

He nodded with a sigh looking away. He couldn't deny that Angelique had the right guess.

"Do you know the beautiful girl?"

"What beautiful girl?" he turned his face at her

"The brunette one with long curly hair. She was wearing a long floral dress, pink long sleeved dress… so classy…elegant…"

He gasped swallowing, "I didn't see anyone, but I did recognize the carriage. It belongs to the O'Gregon's, one of, if not, the closest family to the king's"

"Ah… so you really do know her?"

Chris cleared his throat feeling a slight distress with the question, his memories travelled to another way of knowing the classy brunette woman, "For the description you gave, you might be talking about Katarina…she's a gossip girl! That's why I preferred to not take any risk of being recognized and walked away…"

She smirked in distress, "Gossip girl… yet, still beautiful. All the men looked stunned by her, even the women were looking at her…"

Chris took her grip and with his right hand's fingers, he lifted her chin up, "Katarina might be the center of attention anywhere she goes, but my eyes can only see you!" he spoke with a soft smile

Angelique smiled faintly, she was young but not stupid and didn't really believed much his declaration, "I don't know what happened in your court life for you to be running away like that, but… I appreciate it since I can be with you"

"Angely… I'm not running away… I made a choice and I'm sticking with it, so to continue living the choice, I have to keep unnoticed by my past… and this choice now includes you, I'm staying with you and I'm not returning to the court ever again!" he reassured her

She smiled largely, "Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise!"

The young couple rode their horses and headed to the new location Christopher wanted to show to her, his new hideout in emergency case. They didn't take long there and in their way back to the lake house, a sudden rain hit them. They kept the horses in the stable and rushed to the main manor all soaking wet.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review, you rock! :D**

 **So now Angelique is a woman... not that we had doubts of her female body, right! xD  
And then Katarina almost found Christopher!  
Can we sense some drama coming? Of course we can! Drama is always on the way haha**

 **Let's see what happens next, so as always...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

 **Katarina's POV**

Rains… That only reminds me of my grief. My loss. Is that he crying above us? Above me? If not. Probably the sky is crying for me as I keep my well contained expressions after the turmoil at that fair in the Peasants' Village. He was so vivid there… somehow… am I going crazy for longing for Christopher all this time?

The rain. The pouring rain. It was raining. It was raining that day. It was cold. My heart was in flame. My skin was burning. Needy. Needy for love. Needy for attention.

"Christopher, I cannot run that fast! This dress is a burden in rainy days!"

He laughed, "I don't know why you wear all that. There are simpler dresses, you know?" he replied as he crouched to piggyback

Without wasting any second I rode onto his back and placed each of my legs around his waist and held firmly on his shoulders as he stood up carrying me and ran without much effort trough the green camp until my personal manor as he was helping me with the remaining heavy loads. Such a strong man and it felt so good to be so close to him…My legs around him… I could not help those thoughts

"I am going to pick some dry towels for us. That rain really busted us!"

"Yeah, I'll wait here"

"Oh, but first, would you help me untie my dress? As you can see I did not bring any of my maidens with me as I judged it would not be necessary and it is really heavy now to do it on my own…"

He shrugged, "Sure…"

We stayed in silence for a while. So many thoughts – and dirty thoughts – invaded my brain. "Do you prefer simpler dresses?" I asked breaking the disturbing silence

"What? Do I prefer simpler dresses?" he asked puzzled

"But you mentioned it"

"Yes, I did, but I don't prefer anything. But I imagine that wearing all this is not practical, don't you agree?"

"Yes I do agree, but simpler dresses are for minor classes."

He smirked, "The fine fabrics you wear wouldn't diminish your social status… I have seen other classy women from other nations wearing much simpler dresses and still being who they are in society…"

"I am absolutely sure you have seen those, but the real question is…" I spoke turning around as I had felt the ties and apparel loosen, "What is more simpler than a woman's bare flesh? Is there a difference from the nations on that matter?" I asked lowering the sleeves and exposing even more my already exposing cleavage to the level of nipples.

Ah! His gaze... He could not disguise it. As any other man; his eyes looked down to where I wanted him to look at. That day was different. That day he did not ignore my advance. That simple advance and did look aim his attention to my cleavage. Would his attention drag to further more? I needed to make that test.

I gave one single step towards him without losing track of his eyes, his reaction. Unconsciously my lips parted with a delight. He did not step away. Different from the other times. His eyes looked up meeting mine causing a great shiver down to my spine. Every pore of my skin reacted to the fire burning in me. To the sparkle. To the lust. The lust in his eyes. It was there! I could see it. My legs trembled in anticipation. My heart starting to pound in my chest. I could not lose control in that game. Was he playing with me? I needed to test that too.

One more step. One arm freed. One breast revealed.

"Kat…" his voice whispered. No step back, but a sign of hesitation in his voice tone

"You are not stepping away…"

"Will that make you stop? You tease me all the time"

I shook my head, "I cannot stop knowing you want it - me"

He laughed, "You're a beautiful woman… I'm a man…"

"A man who has rejected me and still is just staring when I am revealing me"

"For a good sake"

"A good sake? Whose?"

"People talk…"

"Nobody has to know if none of us tell" my hands slowly travelled his chest up to his neck

He chuckled, "Your maidens aren't here…"

"No one is here…" I pulled his neck for me and leaned over him

He managed to stop inches before our faces touched, "Kat…"

"Let me love you Chris…"

Our lips finally locked. Soon enough we were free from our wet and heavy clothes. He lifted me up, one arm looping behind my knees, the other cradling me close. Gently, he laid me on the bed, then he lowered himself beside me, one leg trapping mine.  
The feel of his body against mine took my breath away. He rained kisses on my face and my neck, taking little nips that had me gasping. I pressed against him, needing more. A low growl escaped him, and he was back to kissing my mouth, sucking me down into a whirlpool of emotions and sensations. I could stay with him like this for hours. Forever.

The feel of his skin against mine was nothing like I had ever imagined. I shivered. Was it possible to die from too much sensation? Maybe from not breathing.

I sucked in air and imitated him, touching him intimately. He shuddered then went still. Sure I had done something wrong. I froze too. My eyes flew to his. His eyes burned, his face tight with tension.

"Don't stop" he said in a voice an octave lower. Then he sat up.

I was like a kid in my favorite playground. My eyes feasted on his broad chest. Golden skin. Rippling muscles. Taut abdomen. It was one thing to ogle him from afar and quite another to have him this close. At my mercy. Blood roaring past my ears, pounding heart threatened to explode, I drooled.

He leaned against the pillow, hands behind his chest, "Go ahead"

I did. His skin was hot, smooth, his muscles flexing under my palm. A few times he held his breath, telling me without words what pleased him. I grew bolder, loving the feel of him. He caught my wrist, "Come here" he whispered, studying me from under his lashes

I crawled up his hot bod, draped myself over him like I had always fantasized, and stared into his eyes. The fire in them dimmed me for some reason. He pushed my hair back and cupped my breasts. The way his muscles shifted on his chest and stomach had me mesmerized. He had such a beautiful body. Lean. Hard. Masculine without being overpowering.

He pulled me up into his arms. We kissed fiery, his tongue stuck on my tongue. My insides turned into jelly. His body fit perfectly into mine. I was lost in pleasure. He was heaven. For a moment I regretted not had conserved me to this moment, it would be even more special. Although, there were moments it did feel like my first time.

I still can taste him in my sweet memories. Every time it rains, I remember of him. I am even more reminded of him when it rains. Of us. The sweet pouring memories. It is raining now as the coach ride us to my new prison. That moment at the fair… I so could feel him, his presence there. Did my thoughts make it rain just like that day when we became one? In the bed… In front of the fireplace…

* * *

 **Lake House**

"What a crazy rain. It came all of sudden even with that bright sun!" the ginger commented as she looked at her wet clothes

"It's the season, no?" Christopher commented as he closed the door

"Yes, but it ruined our walk"

He smiled, "I didn't know you're the complaining type" he spoke with a joking way

She laughed, "I have my moments"

"I can see that…" he spoke stepping closer to her from behind and enlaced his arms around her waist and spoke on her ear, "And I'm loving to getting to know you better"

She smiled as she turned to face him, "I'm still a silly and stupid girl"

"No you're not! I think you're an amazing girl!"

"I don't know how amazing I can be… I'm not like Katarina…"

"You're definitely not like Katarina!"

"So how can I be amazing? She is amazing…Her dress, her jewelry… People looked like statues watching her"

"Is she amazing only because she wears fine clothing?

"No. because of her way to be"

"Arrogant?"

She laughed, "Even I could see she has a strong personality. I'm a people observer and I noticed that on her"

"So if you had had more time to observe you'd see she's not all that that you think. Her beauty and fine clothing cover her arrogance and snobbery. I'm sure she was disgusted in being standing in that place!"

"You know her too well, don't you?"

He inhaled deeply, "Yes, unfortunately"

She looked down imagining something else. Her insecurity still lied in her. She wanted to believe he really didn't see Katarina's with everyone else's eyes. She could sense there was a history he wasn't telling about them, but at the same time she thought it was just her usual insecurity giving her extra and wrong thoughts or misinterpretations. She feared asking further.

"Angely. Don't compare yourself to Katarina. Your heart is much richer than all of her fortune!"

"Are you really honest about that? Or are you just saying it because of 'that'?"

"That what?"

"'That'… what we did…" she started blushing stepping away from him, "in bed…" her voice nearly

"Intercourse?"

She nodded in confirmation. Talking about that subject still caused her some embarrassment. It was still a new thing in her life.

Christopher smiled tenderly. He found her shyness and clumsiness cute. He walked over to her, "Angely, what happened between was and is because of our love. There's no second intention behind from my part!"

She continued looking down. She was full of uncertainties. Insecurities. She hated being that way. She didn't have good examples of happy relationships around her. Her life trajectory made her distrust love somehow. Distrust men. The happy moments with Christopher still seemed to be just a good vivid dream that could end at any moment. And her only hope now was in the marriage she hoped her father would accept to Christopher. That was the right thing to do, wasn't it? She had had been his already! Obviously, her father and stepmother couldn't and shouldn't know such detail or they could think the worse of her – more than they already did.  
The intercourse, the natural consequence of her love for Christopher, was still a taboo for her.

"Angely. I really do love you and I want and will marry you!" he grabbed her arms gently

She wanted to believe him fully. She really did.

"What if my father says no? We have to be realistic about my life and the people in it…"

He swallowed thinking for a moment, "It's not how I want it, but I'd marry you in secret. I cannot accept you living the way they want you to! You're not their cattle."

She smiled faintly. She loved his protective way. The B plan to run away and marry in secret sounded tempting despite not being what she really expected. However, as she remembered her destiny to a nunnery, she could set her frame of mind to the desperate measure. And her only option in the case of a denial.

Christopher touched her chin, turning her face to him, "My love for you is greater than anything and nothing will separate me from you from now on. I won't give up if they say no. I love you and I will fight for our love if I have to!"

"Do you really love me?"

"I do love you Angelique Stafford!" he reassured her with determination

She smiled. She wanted to say loud those words as well, but they felt stuck in her throat, leaving in form of tears. He wiped them pulling her close to him. Sheltering her small body into his arms. His precious angel. So brave but so innocent. So strong but so delicate.

"That place I showed you and am building slowly a new shelter for me…"

"That land at the border of the peasant village?"

"Yes, that land… that land will be our future home."

"Are you sure there won't be any problem? Are you sure that doesn't belong to anyone?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure! I've studied that place and asked questions to nearby inhabitants since I didn't want to invade anyone's space"

"Yeah, but there is already a small timber-framed manor there…"

"I know, I finished building that. There was only a basic construction so I enhanced it."

"What? Really? I thought you were joking when you showed me"

He chuckled, "I don't lie to you Angely!" then he smiled, "I have plenty of time and energy to waste! I really am building a future for us"

"I don't even know what to say Chris… I never thought I'd be lucky to find a good man like you and now it's hard for me to imagine you building a manor on your own!"

He shrugged, "I will do what I can. I have saved some money with some works and I will pay more men to help me there, besides, I'm not building a castle, right?"

She laughed, "No, you're not"

"Unless you want it…"

She laughed louder, "No! I'm fine with a simple but cozy manor!"

"Yeah, for now it's a timber-framed, but I intend to have more stories and a shop or workshop in the ground floor"

She lifted her brows with interest, "A shop? What kind of shop?"

"Well, I don't know about me, but I know about you. If you agree with that of course…"

"Me?"

He nodded in confirmation

"What about me?"

He pointed around to her paintings, "You have a talent that shall be exposed and even used for your own self sustain. You could be a royal painter or a very important artist Angely. You do tell stories with your work and this can be kept for our future descendants"

She smiled not knowing what to say. He apparently had pictured everything in silence in his head. She had never thought about her hobby in such way. He had a belief in her that only two people had demonstrated that for her, her late mother and grandmother. His words gave her hope to know she could be independent financially somehow and even help their family in the future. He was talking about children, right?

"What do you say?"

"I don't know what to say Chris… you increase my vision of future and it all makes sense. I never thought I could make money with my paintings… sounds like a good idea and I have other talents too. I can sew…"

"Sing… I heard there would have a theater in the peasant village. There are a lot of artists there…"

She turned to him widening her eyes, "No! I could never sing in public! I'd die of embarrassment!"

He laughed imagining her in such situation, blushing and nervous. He pulled her to him once again. She seemed more relaxed now and confident. She was like a jewelry to be sculpted. The most precious and valuable jewelry, "That's the drawing I have for us. Do you like it?"

"I loved it! you only make me good Chris… I'm sorry when I have these stupid doubts about you… I hate myself when I do that."

He smiled warmly lifting her chin up and planted a soft kiss on her lips, "Hate doesn't suit you my dear. You have to learn how to see the good things in you, but I know it takes time and I will always be there for you my love."

"You promise?" she enlaced her arms around his waist

"I promise!"

The young couple smiled once again before sealing their lips into a warming kiss full of love and tenderness. By that moment, the rain had started to get heavy again, which prolonged Angelique's staying in the house. Not that they would complain of that. they had so little time to spend together that that rain felt like a grace for them to increase their love and company.

* * *

 **Northwest Palace**

"Look at this place! It's amazing! The Duke really has a really good taste and a great appreciation for you Katarina" Mrs. O'Gregon spoke mesmerized with the luxury of the manor, "Katarina?" she called her again after not having any response from her daughter

"Kat!" Elizabeth, the younger O'Gregon turned to the side to look at her sister who looked distant and indifferent to the location. Noticing the sister of the Duke and the others looking at them as if studying every single reaction and muscle of them, the blonde woman poked her sister discreetly

"My lovely daughter might be stunned with all the Duke has to offer to her, right my darling?" the woman scolded her with a cynic smile

"Yes, it is a beautiful place…" Katarina replied forcing a smile although her still gaze contrasted with her smile and voice tone

The women from the Duke's side exchanged gazes simultaneously as if sharing the same disbelief, although keeping the discretion and diplomatic composure.

The Duke's sister cleared her throat, "You must be tired from the long trip. Lady Bow will introduce you to your bedchambers. Please follow her."

Katarina's mother tried her best and not demonstrate her embarrassment due to her daughter's behavior. Most probably, she was doing that to tease her. She had that trait. Unfortunately, she knew her daughter too well to know her bad temper and whines. Although, she knew her even better in knowing Katarina's temperamental trait and capability to make a scandal when confronted, which could make things get worse and slip away the chance of her wedding the Duke and become a Duchess what would elevate their already high status in Bohma's society and reinforce their power staying only under the King's.

In the other hand, Katarina preferred to remain locked and alone in her destined bedchamber alleging she was tired and not feeling good from the long trip. In fact, she was indeed tired and not feeling well but not because of the trip itself. However, she only needed a time to deal with her mourning and longing for Christopher. His presence was so vivid that she even expected to see him again.

(**)

" _I love you Christopher"_

 _I said I loved him. There was no response. My words echoed to the bedchamber's walls and died there. He swallowed hard. He could not say the same. We were in different pages. I craved for his body. He gave it to me. But after having him, I wanted more. He could not give it to me. Not at that moment I thought. I understood. None of us expected those words to come out from my lips. His silence almost made me regret it. Me, the one who never regretted anything so far. Until that moment with him. That was the second thing that I regretted while being with him. Not having him as my first and those stupid words. Stupid love! Stupid me!_

A few days passed. Katarina looked through the window of her new prison the landscape surrounding the area. Bored and restless, she couldn't continue playing her perfect role for that annoying group of family and needed to vent.

"Prepare a horse for me. I am going out for a walk… and alone!" she ordered her favorite and personal maiden and putting emphasis in the last part

The brunette woman climbed down the stairs when she met her future sister in law in the hallway. The woman didn't disguise looking at her from her to toe.

"Lady O'Gregon?"

"Yes ma'am."

"What are you doing?"

Katarina inhaled controlling her impatience with the woman, "I am going out for fresh air"

"Anywhere in particular?" the woman asked lifting her eyebrows

"No, I will just ride horse for a while, may I?" Katarina responded almost in a whining tone

"Absolutely, I will call the other ladies to join you"

"No! I do not need any guard with me"

"Of course you do need guards. Only prostitutes walk alone outside"

Katarina gasped on the verge to lose her temper with the other woman

"Lady O'Gregon, I don't know what my brother saw in you but I shall respect his decision to bring you in to this manor"

"Cecilia, what are you really trying to say? I am not following you!"

The woman gasped, "I don't need to pretend any sympathy with you in the absence of my brother. So I shall be clear."

"Yes, you shall, please!" Katarina replied with an annoyed tone

"I know what people have spoken about you"

"What have People spoken about me?"

"Your fame of being lascivious."

Katarina laughed in cynic way, "Lascivious?"

"Yes, but I don't deny you have beauty and some "talent"… Whores need to have some talent. The difference of an ordinary whore and you is the possessions your family have. Like I said, I don't know what my brother saw in you and knowing he is still a man and men do love whores despite their public denials, in the end they always look for them! My brother has been married once and his children are already living their own lives, so I'm sure you might entertain him with your talents and be his China whore"

Katarina inhaled deeply, her pupils burning in fury and her hands burned as she controlled her herself to not slap that outrageous woman

"So if you intend to bed any man, be careful and do not let me hear anything about it otherwise, as I'm in charge of watch you out, I might have to report to my brother your lascivious behavior behind his back. May I remind you that as the chosen one, and my brother, the Duke expects a respectful demeanor from you weather you like it or not!"

Katarina smiled in a cynic way, "At least I can see I have got some value to the so called Duke and nothing will happen. No one will hear anything besides untruths such as the ones you have heard out there about my persona. With that said, may I remind you that I still am not married to your beloved brother, so I will enjoy the remaining freedom I have left in my own way and alone! Now excuse me!" she passed by the other woman without waiting for her response and without destination, she only rode her horse until she arrived at a nearby town at the Lake Province.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review, you rock! :D  
Thank you all the people that read and has favorited and followed the story :D**

 **So what can I say about this chapter? hummm... I guess I can see the storm forming xD**

 **And as the usual...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21st Century**

"This dream…Again…"

And he woke up with a start when it was still dawn. Christopher Redfield, the now Captain of the BSAA looked at the window and checked the clock over the bedside table of his bedroom in a spring day of 2010. He sat on the bed still thoughtful about the dream of a young couple in a house at the shore of a beautiful lake. He turned on the television to distract himself as the sleep had escaped him.

Navigating through the channels, he didn't find anything interesting. Starting to feel hungry, he stood up from the bed and headed to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. That day he had the day off and when he finished his meal, he started some home chores before his house cleaner arrived. That day was special as he was expecting the visit of his sister Claire. It had been a while since they had seen each other in person.

It was a good change in routine. Since the incident of Raccoon City, his life turned upside down and whatever he ever thought about himself and his career had changed dramatically turning him into a workaholic and loner in his personal life. The fight against the bioterrorism had become the purpose of his life and he was fine with that. He still found time to do few things he liked such as working out at the gym, training his skill and occasional nightstands and few other things. He was fine with that. He enjoyed that routine.

Some close people used to say he didn't have a life, that he was a robot, gym's freak. Those comments used to bother him when he was younger. Not anymore. He had become a pro in ignoring people's bullshit about him. Those people could not see the bigger picture and it would be a waste of time and effort to try to make them understand otherwise.

The hours passed, the house cleaner arrived and thanked for his anticipation and to not disturb her with the remaining chores, he headed back to his bedroom. The television was still on in a History Channel. His cellphone buzzed. It was Claire telling him she was at the airport.

"Do you want me to pick you up there?" he asked

"No, I'm alright. I'll get a cab"

"A cab? I thought you come driving your car"

"Oh no. I'm coming from a short trip and I've got you some souvenirs!"

Chris didn't reply as his attention was dragged to the television screen and the paradisiac landscape of a lake house.

"Chris, are you there? Chris?"

The hazel-eyed man shook his head bringing his attention back to the call, "Yeah, sorry. I saw something here…" he spoke apologetic still keeping his eyes on the documentary

"Alright. We'll talk more later"

The Redfield brothers disconnected and Chris walked closer to the television and sat on the armchair paying attention to the screen and the weird sensations passing through his body. Without taking notice of the time, Chris watched it attentively.

"I was in that place"

Chris looked back in scare with the sudden familiar female voice in the bedroom, "Claire! I didn't hear the doorbell…"

"Yeah, I know! Thank god Eliza was home"

Chris laughed awkwardly and stood up to greet and hug his beloved little sister, "So you were on a trip huh? What a miracle is that? I thought the Redfield's were only workaholics" he spoke jokingly

Claire laughed, "Like you said, a miracle! But it was good. I needed that break from all the sadness and the things you know so well…"

"Yeah… it's been a while I don't travel for just the fun…"

"My tip trip for you, Bohma! It's a very beautiful place. So many castles and a rich history! Beautiful parks, stunning architecture. You should take your girlfriend for a honeymoon there!"

He chuckled, "What girlfriend?"

She gasped, "The tech girl… weren't you two dating?"

"Were! A long time ago."

"You broke up with her too?"

He nodded in confirmation

She shrugged, "And I thought you two were getting married and the Redfield's would finally get their next generation and me be a lovely auntie"

Chris laughed, "No next generation from my side sis. I'm not a marriage material!"

"Sure you are! I remember all the girlfriends you had back in the days!"

"Yeah and I broke up with all of them!"

"You were young…"

"Maybe… but now older I know I'm not a marriage material! So you are the one in charge to continue the Redfield family…"

She shook her head, "I won't do that alone my brother. I'm sure you are the finest marriage material a patient girl could get… you just hide it behind your objection and apparent trauma. I wonder if you suffered in someone's hands…"

He laughed, "There is no trauma sister. I just don't have time for marital drama! I've got enough of drama at work!"

"Yeah, someone's is definitely traumatized with love!... maybe you had a bitchy wife!" she teased him again

He shook his head in denial, "I know we spend a lot of time without seeing each other, but I'd never hide from you a wife. No way I had a bitchy wife! Your theory is wrong"

She shrugged, "Maybe in another life…"

He laughed loud, "You don't really believe that, do you?"

She made a face, "I didn't believe the dead could get back to life, people turn into monsters and vice-versa and look what happens… so I'm in a point of life that I don't doubt things that much anymore"

He gasped, "Nah, this is other life thing is bullshit! The reality is that there are people for everything. Some are born for marriage and family, others don't. And that's my case and I'm fine with that!"

"So why do you even date?"

"Because I like have one partner at a time, different of your friend Leon"

She laughed, "Leon is a marriage material too! He doesn't deny he used to dream he would have a family. He just didn't find the right girl yet… just like you!"

"I thought I was traumatized. What happened to your theory of suffering?"

She smiled, "I hadn't finished telling you my theory that if it's not trauma, it's just that you didn't find the special one. And I emphasize the Special because your girl shall be very patient and understanding of your work and often absence!"

At that statement he only shrugged not agreeing nor disagreeing with his sister's words. Maybe there was a logic in her opinion. Maybe he just didn't find the right one yet. But the question that would always linger is that: how can we know the other person is The One?  
Maybe he might had met the one and dropped her like in the most recent longstanding relationship he ever had since his fight started, the tech girl. They stayed together for over 3 years.

The siblings continued talking and changed subjects to the redhead's great trip to Bohma, an old country, famous for its old castles, tradition in Arts, preservation of the old architecture and influence in Europe since it's glory dated from early 18th century after the Great War when a particular two men made history by dedicating their lives with brilliance in combat, diplomacy and strategies who helped in the separation and settlement of Bohma as its own kingdom, later on a consolidated country and the most advanced country at that time in all over Europe.

Claire showed her brother the pictures she had taken in the country and the National Park where the Lake House situated, the same place Chris had seen on the television and also in his dreams…

"What's so special about that house?"

"It's history!"

"And what's the history?"

"Do you really want to know old history?"

"Sure, why not?"

The young Redfield inhaled deeply letting out a heavy sigh, "I don't know… There are some details that got me sad when I was there"

"Your girly side?"

She gasped, "I don't know, I guess it's my human side…"

"Hey, I'm a human too!"

"Are you? Sometimes I have doubts…" she teased him jokingly

"Hahaha!" he rolled his eyes and she laughed, "So, what's the story?"

Claire Redfield rested her back on the armchair, taking another long breathe. "That house used to belong to a young girl. A young painter, famous for her paintings and diaries. Her art lived ahead of her and they say that there are still out there lost paintings of her work, missing diaries. Especially the materials of her final years that preceded the Great War."

"How can they be so sure of her lost treasure?"

"Because of the incomplete sets of paintings and diaries. They have some that are evidently incomplete because her differential work was that she used to paint and portray things like a movie, or a book. She really used to tell people's and the society's story in a row. Some say her greatest rival and enemy set fire on her work in an outburst. Others say it was lost with the time and nature… Either ways, they know the material is incomplete and her faithful registers of that time would get into history"

"I see… Was she a noblewoman or something?"

"No! You can she say she was medium class, but she lived more like a poor woman because of her family who rejected her in every ways. Her tragic fate started when her mother died when she was 16."

"Tragic fate?"

Claire nodded with a saddened expression

"Well, life back in the days wasn't easy, especially for women! If nowadays is still not that great, imagine in what… 17th – 18th century?! No wonder her fate was tragic…"

"Yeah… all she had was her art…"

"So what's the girl's name?"

"Angelique"

"Angelique…" he repeated almost in a whisperer

"Yeah… Angelique R. Stafford, the girl who unveiled the devil"

"The girl who unveiled the devil?" he asked making a face

"Yeah. There was a part in the museum – the Lake House – that referred to her like that"

"Why?"

"Because she was the girl who faced Lady Katarina O'Gregon, an influential noblewoman, mischievous and spoiled woman… Tragic story!"

"So tell me more…"

* * *

 **17th Century**

 _Three days passed since I returned home and back to my old routine. I must confess this time was more difficult to leave the lake manor. Christopher courts me like a queen; his queen. I wonder if that's the education given in the court. No one has ever treated me so kindly and warmly like that before. I never had felt so special to anyone. It's even hard to believe this is real. I only thought a man loving so devotedly a woman only happened in the books._

 _The lake manor has a total different and new meaning for me - I have become a woman there - at least that's how I feel it._

 _The lake brought me the love of my life and every time I think of our sweet memories made in that manor, brings a large smile to my face._

 _I love when he calls me Angely, his angel. The sweet memories watching the lake from our chambers, in the barn, in front of the fireplace. The love letters he writes to me, the love declarations and the promises for our bright future…_

 _All my life I used to watch the lake and the forests in the other side at dawn, the sunrise or the sunset and my favorite season of full moon, or the nights full of stars in the sky. When I was a kid I remember I made wishes to the shooting stars and now I feel like they have granted me the warming and cheerful days of my life. Unfortunately, my mother and grandmother are not here with me, but I believe they might be watching over me wherever they are. The lonely year is gone, and now I admired the night sky and the stunning landscape alongside my love whenever we are at the shore fishing or walking holding hands wherever we go in our hideout. I love when he brings me flowers and places one on my hair over my ear. His precious angel. And then the sweet kisses and all the cuddles or waking up in each other's arms every time we become one._

 _There's no better feeling than that! Waking up in the arms of the one you love the most. To exchange gazes, caresses, feeling each other's heartbeats, skin against skin. The electrifying shivers and the butterflies in the stomach always makes me forget the harsh reality and the fact that we still didn't validated our banns by consecrating our union in a church, our souls already belong to each other and I look forward to when we don't have to hide ourselves anymore. Love is divine._

 _For now, I stay home dedicating myself to my paintings and diary usually in my bedchamber while the days pass as I wait for my father to return from another trip. What a punishment! And I thought I wouldn't have to wait so much to introduce Christopher to him in person under the vigilant watch of the "royal guard" of my stepmother... she thinks I don't know, but I act like I haven't noticed her constant observing wherever I go alone._

 _The special painting is almost finished. This one I made with all my love. I wonder what face Christopher will do when he sees himself in my work!_

She smiled largely at the thought locked in her own paradise.

Knock; knock.

Angelique hid quickly her diary as she heard the noises on the door. What an unexpected act. Her stepmother never bothered to knock before invading her space and privacy.

"Is there anything wrong?" she asked the serious woman staring at her

"No, nothing wrong. I just came to inform you that tomorrow a midwife will come to attend you"

"Attend me? What for?"

"To inspect your virginity. Your husband might want to be sure his bridegroom is _virgo intacta_ …"

Angelique remained in silence avoiding eye contact, pretending to be drawing on her notebook.

The woman observed the redhead girl's reaction having doubts of how to interpret her, "Unless he has bedded you already"

Angelique remained in the same behavior. She was already used to the woman's teasing to trap her. However, inside she was freaking out. Thank god, that woman didn't have the ability to look in her inner side or she would be sure of Angelique's real situation.

"Won't you say anything?"

"What should I say? It's already decided, no?"

"Yes, it is decided"

The woman didn't prolong her presence and left the bedchamber. Angelique kept her demeanor until she was absolute sure the woman wouldn't return and get her busted in nervousness.

* * *

 **Northwest Palace**

"My brother, what an unexpected and pleasing surprise your presence here"

"Yes, I managed to return before I expected too. Is Lady O'Gregon here?"

"Yes, she is… locked in her bedchamber"

"Is she feeling alright?"

"Yes, she is."

"How is the wedding preparations? Did she like her new accommodations?"

The woman cleared her throat discreetly, "You should ask that to her"

"Why? Aren't you helping her as I ordered?"

"With all the respect my brother. All I can say is: just ask her. Excuse me" the spoke leaving the main hall

The man frowned at her behavior sensing things between them weren't friendly as he expected. On his way to Katarina's bedchamber, he greeted briefly the other O'Gregon women, and then entered the brunette's bedchamber who was looking out at the window.

"So beautiful like the sunrise…"

Katarina had a scare looking quickly in the direction of the man

"Good morning, milady!"

"Good morning…"

"How are you feeling?"

"I am good."

"Surprised?" he asked taking her grip to kiss the palm of her hand

Katarina forced a smile with difficulty as a wave of disgust cored through her body at the touch of that man. His beard causing her goosebumps.

"As a matter of fact I am" she replied removing her hand from his as she stepped away

"I hope you're happy to see me, your groom"

"Did you finish your work at the other location?"

"Yes I did"

"Good…"

"How are the wedding preparations?" he asked walking closer to her

"It is progressing… there are many details yet. I am sorry I could not arrange everything before your return as you expected…" she walked away again

"I didn't expect any less details coming from you. You don't have to apologize milady. As a fact, you deserve a ceremony like a queen's"

Katarina smiled at the compliment. Her first natural smile, "You will make me blush that way…" she spoke covering her cheeks a little bit

"Am I saying too much?"

"Not really"

"So… do you like your new manor and accommodations?"

"Yes I do. Thank you milord. You have a good taste for decorations"

"You deserve the best! After our marriage, you will have much more, my future Duchess of Northwest!"

Katarina smiled faintly. That title sounded good for her ambitions side, but when she looked at the man from head to toes and his lack of appeal made her feel that title was too much of a burden and nothing pleasing to carry on. She deserved more and better than that.

He stepped closer to her, "Where's your famous radiance? I feel like I'm doing a monologue"

"Pardon me please. I am just tired…"

"I'm sure I can make you feel better…" he spoke in a charming tone taking her grip with one hand and her waist with the other

"What are you doing?" the woman spoke outraged walking away

"I'm going to make you feel better"

"I will feel better when you leave!"

The man frowned at her words' tone, "May I remind you that you're still not my wife legally, but you are my woman already. You shall respect my wishes and not turn me down!"

"I am a virgin who shall remain chaste until the honeymoon!"

The man laughed with a smirk, "You a virgin? You may fool your father and there's nothing worse than a man who doesn't want to see the truth and remain blind! You don't fool me! a woman who has bedded the king have no right in such order"

"What? Bedded king? Is that the new rumor?" she rolled her eyes in annoyance

"Not a rumor when the Queen herself confided me that"

She couldn't help her loud laugh and smirk, "A despicable ugly and insecure woman has no credibility to say that!"

"She's the Queen!"

"A miserable insecure woman! A shame to femininity! To hell the title of… queen!" she spoke with mock

A mischievous smile formed on the man's face, who seemed delighted with her scene, "Now I can see the real you. I like that!"

Katarina let out a heavy annoyed sigh as she placed her hands on her waist, regaining her composure

"So you're a virgin? All the cleavage and radiance is just…"

"Yes, I am a virgin! Is just my friendly way makes that the _gobermouch_ think wrongly and tell a bunch of lies! Those people shall go _sard_ themselves and the horse they rode in on."

The man laughed loud, "Those words aren't for a classy woman!"

"I am sick and tired of all the lies the dastards spread about me! Because of them you have insulted me by touching me in that inappropriate way! You still are not my husband and shall not touch me ever again!"

"You don't have the virginal aura"

"And you do not have respect for me!"

"I do respect you and a lot… reason why I'm looking forward to wed you very soon!"

"If that is your respect towards a noblewoman like me, I do not want to know how you treat the whores"

He stepped closer to her and stared into her eyes, "I could never treat you like an ordinary whore!" he spoke with a threatening way

Katarina didn't back down and faced the man staring back at him. no one could stood up for her besides herself and that was her strongest trait that in the others' mouth sounded like arrogance. She was an impetuous woman and tired of the Duke's family. She was already having enough tolerance with his sister and her insults. Her limit of patience was decreasing day by day, minute by minute as her staying in that place prolonged. She was at the verge to explode after listening up to everything like the ethical and nobility code demanded from a woman of her status. But that was getting too much and combined with her disgust for the Duke, her anger only increased giving her more courage to stare back into the man's eyes as if she was an equal or even superior to him.

Soon their duel ended, the man left the bedchamber. In his eyes, no one won that battle and the more ferocious that woman could be, the more interested he became. She was a woman who could go to both extremes, from the who to the prude. From the classy to the peasant. A polyglot who could speak not only foreign languages, but one who could speak the nobility dialect and the lower classes dialect. From the diplomacy to the beast. A unique woman who wasn't just one woman, she was several women into one. She ought to be his!

Katarina remained restless in her bedchamber. Her brain working on fire in how she could escape that fate. She was her own domain.

 _Her name was Katarina R. O'Gregon, the fierce Duchess_

* * *

 **"GOBERMOUCH": An old Irish word for a nosy, prying person who likes to interfere in other people's business.**

 **"Sard" was the medieval period's F-word. A 10th-Century Old English translation of the Bible contained the immortal phrase: "Don't sard another man's wife." It can't really get clearer than that.**

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review, you rock! :D**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	10. The Name Is Katarina O'Gregon

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains hints of Sexual Content**

* * *

 _By the end of the 17th Century, during the reign of King Richard, Bohma started to live the Golden Age as one of the most powerful provinces in Eastern Europe, followed by Baveen._

 _King Richard wanted the freedom of Bohma and Baveen belonged to the territory of Edonia that were still under the power and influence of Edonia, a big but falling and dependent country. However, due to its minerals, Edonia kept strong and important alliances with other nations that equipped their military force._

 _The diplomacy between Bohma and Edonia ruptured even more as Bohma increased their self-sufficiency, territory and army. Due to the constant disagreements between the kings that led to several battles between the two nations._

 _In need of more support, King Richard with a strong work of diplomacy decided to unite forces with another big and strong country, Russia. Russia was ruled by an Empress who had elevated the country to its Golden Age as well. Under her reign, Russia was revitalized; it grew larger and stronger, and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe._

 _Both nations saw the mutual advantages their alliance could endure and to seal their union, a marriage would be the final seal. King Richard had only a married son and three daughters, while the Empress of Russia had only an heir, her daughter Grand Duchess Sofia Romanov._

 _Not having many options of influential male heirs from important families, King Richard decided to arrange the marriage of his favorite counselor and leader of the Royal Army._

* * *

"Ah, I cannot believe I am finally back home and out of that prison!" Katarina spoke in delight as she jumped on her giant bed, "I was about to kill that miserable family if I continued there for a longer period!"

"You shouldn't say such thing Kat! Killing someone is a horrible thing!" her sister Elizabeth scolded her

Katarina rolled her eyes and laughed, "Do not take so literally everything I say! It was just a force of expression, geez!"

The blonde girl looked at her sibling who was sitting up on the bed corner, "I really hope you didn't mean those words when I know you so well and how good with words you can be… and after seeing your terrible behavior and mood these past days… it's a scary thought you killing someone…"

The brunette woman let out a sigh and walked over to the blonde gently pulling her into her arms, "Aww my little, my beloved sister… so sweet! I cannot stand when you look so down! Do not you know me…I do and speak stupid things when I get angry… you know that!" she lifted the blonde's face gently by the chin and spoke in a softer and caring tone

"I didn't recognize you, sister… you were so out of yourself… especially when the Duke showed up for one day…"

Katarina inhaled keeping her composure, disguising the bad sensations in her, "I do know I cannot stand the Duke!"

"What did he do to you? You might have a reason to not stand him in such way…"

"I was not going to say that to anyone, but you are a piece of my heart… the best part of me… so I will be honest with you and I hope I will not wipe your tears for not recognize me. I do have reasons to hate him!"

"Did he do anything bad to you?"

"Yes he did!"

"What? Really?"

"Yes my sister. He did bad things to me and I will never forget that! And now that we are here I should apologize to you"

"Why?"

"Because of the stupid things I said when I was chosen by him… After all he did to me, I am glad I am the one who was there and not you, my little sister… I remember I yelled to dad marry you to him instead of me… I am glad that did not happen… I do not know what would have happened if that whoreson would ever touched you!"

Elizabeth widened her eyes in shock. She took a while to digest the revelation, "So he touched you…"

"He did and in a very bad and horrible way! I did not give what he wanted. I am a strong woman and he would have to kill me to get his goal! While I breathe and live, no men will never touch me again the way he did! No men will never lose respect for me ever again! That is why, my beloved sister that women shall not let down their heads towards men! We have the power to put them down. Women are not vessels and inferior to men. I stood up for myself against that asshole and I made a lifetime oath, he will never, ever, touch me again!"

"But sister… you're still engaged to him…"

"Not for long my dear! Not for long!"

"You… you're not really considering to kill him… are you?" the blonde stuttered, the scare was clear in her voice tone

Katarina chuckled and thought for a second before answering her, "I will not kill him my sister. I will not kill him…" she replied – _Not me_ \- she thought

"I'm glad to hear that because you know the laws are changing, right?"

Katarina smiled, "Of course I do!"

"Sister…"

Katarina replied with a mumble

"Be careful with your plan to escape the marriage to the Duke. He's still a very important man, a close friend of the King…"

"And so am I!"

"Yes, but…he's a man. They're both men… and men cover up for each other"

"I know Eliza, I know that. But I am Katarina O'Gregon and no men. No one messes up with me! I have been tolerant enough with all the bad things and crap sayings about me. Untruths! Some people deserve lessons and I will teach them how to treat me! Now excuse me, I need some fresh air"

Elizabeth O'Gregon remained in silence. She didn't have a good feeling and felt powerless seeing the change in her sister who grew bitter day by day. She hoped Katarina would have wisdom and sense of limitation to avoid disgraces.

 _I am Katarina O'Gregon. I am sick and tired of these people! I have kept my mouth shut for too long, now it is time for payback. They expose me, I expose them. They hurt me, I hurt them! I will leave my footprints on the sand of time!_

* * *

Katarina walked in the flower camp when at distance she noticed a couple sitting on the grass having a picnic. The place allowed privacy for young lovers.

"What that Russian is doing here?" she talked to herself recognizing the luxurious clothing of the young female of long and curly black hair

She watched them and walking slowly to hide behind a tree near them, she recognized the young guardian, widening her eyes in shock when the young man leaned on the Russian girl and kissed her lips

"Pierce… no…" Katarina whispered in deception covering her mouth with her hand. Tears formed in her eyes as she watched the couple seemingly in love. A strong pain cored through her body. The pain that she was losing Pierce too. She could not let that happen and wiped her tears recomposing herself as much as she could. She thought of interrupting their loving moment, but with an afterthought, she left them alone for the right time and opportunity to test Pierce and his feelings.

(*)

 **Castle of Bohma**

The members of the Bohman and Russian court and their family were all reuniting in the great ball room for the engagement party of the king's favorite man Pierce Northman and the Great Duchess Sofia Romanov and public reunion to settle the alliance between Bohma and Russia.

The guests arrived at the main gate in their carriages. All the Bohman nobility were supposed to be present at the occasion.

"I think you shouldn't be wearing that gown, sister. You'll get a lot of attention with such short sleeves and cleavage… too much skin exposed" the young O'Gregon spoke looking at Katarina who wore a short-sleeved luxurious ball gown red-gold brocade silk was off-shouldered exposing her chest and shoulders. Her long brown curly hair behind her shoulders. The gold necklace and French style makeup, which enhanced her natural beauty.

The brunette woman smiled mischievously, "That is the idea! Not to mention is so hot today!"

Elizabeth made a disagreement face about the weather as at that time of the day the sun exposure had diminished, "You'll get more attention than the bride. This isn't right!"

Katarina laughed, "I do not care if I will get more attention than the China doll, all I want is to feel good about myself! It is been a long time since we have not danced. I miss that!"

"I hope the Duke won't…"

"Will nothing Eliza! The Duke will not even be there due to an expedition. Thank god!" Katarina didn't let her sister finish her sentence

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes I am!"

The blonde O'Gregon shrugged. Their carriage was a few miles away from their destination. Their parents were in another carriage ahead of them.

And as the expected, Katarina O'Gregon did get everyone's eyes. Vexed opinions. She was indeed stunning, but it was her energy, her easily amusement that made her shine. Katarina shone more than the royal presence of royal presence and reason for the party, Sofia Romanov and her mother the Empress of Russia.  
Katarina had the spirit of a queen, or even of an Empress. Although all of that play, was just her playground. Her real goal was the young and favorite man sitting on the right side of the King who tried to disguise his often glimpses to the stunning lady in red. The moment of the dance was one of the most difficult for him, as he had to watch other men having her in their arms even for a few seconds. Torturing seconds when he had hours, days of her bare skin being only his.  
Ah! But he knew her too well. He knew she was showing her off to him. She was shining to him. To make him see and feel what he was losing. Torment him with their lust memories.

Sofia watched her fiancé, suspecting of his distress, his delight to the show off woman. The noble whore. Yes, that was her concept about that woman, noble or not.

Soon after, the party was over. Special guests had bedchambers to spend the night in the castle, including the O'Gregon and the Romanov's. Pierce as the personal knight of the king, already did live most of his time in the castle.

"My mother is already asleep. I should go and sleep too, I'm tired" Sofia spoke to Pierce while they were in the corridor that led to the guest's bedchambers

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me in my bedchamber tonight?"

"Yes my dear. Tonight I'll have to decline your invitation. It was a long day and party. We need to rest for our walk tomorrow morning" he replied taking her grip

"It's alright. I'll see you in the morning"

"Early morning?" she asked

"Yes, early morning when the sun rise"

"Alright. Have a good night of sleep my dear" she smiled softly as she felt him pulling her to him

"You too…" he held her close and leaned on to kiss her lips softly.

They were alone and in betrothal, so there was permitted to them having that intimacy.

"So the stupid couple already bedded. Humpf, I should not be surprised. It is Pierce after all! She might be a Grand Duchess, but she is no Katarina. She is not me! and I would never, ever say no to Pierce Northman! I know everything and Pierce likes the spice! No matter how much of a bombshell was for me to learn about this stupid engagement and the torture to see them so close, so intimate. That will not back me down! I already lost Christopher and the stupid trip to the Duke's mausoleum had made me realize how much I care for Pierce. I cannot lose him too… And I can give him what he wished right now!" Katarina thought while she watched hidden, the couple saying their goodnights

Pierce headed to his bedchamber. Katarina followed him without let him notice her. She wanted to surprise him; he loved surprises!

He removed his shoes and coat, and walked over the wardrobe to take his sleep gown. He heard a noise on the door and turned his face quickly. His eyes widened in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"Making your wishes coming true"

He gasped, "What?"

She walked slowly to his direction, untying her red robe, "I know you want it, to prove your domain over me… I could see the torture in your eyes when you 'shared' with those men in the ball room…"

"I didn't share you. The Duke did…" he replied stepping away from her

She laughed. The same old cat and mouse game, "You do not share what was never yours… and never will be!"

A part of him appreciated hearing those words, but the reality would change soon and surely, the Duke will have her whenever he wishes. That tormented him.

"But I am yours and only yours…" she stepped closer to him again speaking with a seductive tone, "Too bad I cannot say the same about you…"

"It's been a while since you left to your future husband's property. I had nothing else left besides my love for this province and obedience to the king"

"The same while I had not been loved or loved anyone else… but you…" she leaned on to kiss him

Their lips touched briefly, as he laughed evading from her, "You?" he spoke in disbelief

"Yes, me! Why would I lie about that to you?"

He shrugged

"I danced for you and I know I turned you on… And you do know I would never reject you" she pulled to her and nibbled his earlobe causing him shivers

His reason wanted, begged for him to say no. to dispose of her, but her partially open robe and magical touches across his body deceived his brain. He so longed for her. He so longed her touches, the sparkles she always ignited in him.

Reuniting a tremendous strength, a colossal one, causing an agonizing pain across his body, he stepped away from her once again, "Please, leave…" he spoke almost losing his voice

"You do not want me to leave…"

"Yes I do!"

"No, you do not! Your body shows otherwise…"

"Just leave, please! We both belong to other people now"

"You still love me… your body still does!"

"It doesn't matter what my body shows! This is physical reaction, male instinct…"

"I have female instincts too… they belong to you…"

"You don't belong to me, Kat"

"I do… for one last time…" She stepped closer to him holding his grip, "You do not love her, I will not love the Duke…" she leaned her face close to his ear, "We love each other" she whispered on his ear, "It is quite unfair we not having a farewell…" she nibbled his neck caressing his lower body

"Just a farewell?" he turned his face to her, staying millimeters of distance feeling his pants being lowered

She nodded her head licking her lips seductively as she lowered slowly to her knees, "Does your highness get down from her pedestal and please her man?"

He couldn't resist her anymore. There was something about her that always drove him crazy and made him lose the capability to say no to her.

Years of love carried his sweet release on and on. Sweat glistened off their bodies as they both gasped for air, satiated, spent, and together. Finally together. Leaving the regret for later.

They were lying bed in each other's arms. Pierce felt very sorry for Katarina. He still loved her. He hated the fact that he couldn't help her escape her fate in a such patriarchal society where women were subordinate to men's wishes. An ideology he was opposite and the reason why he accepted and ascended to higher positions to use of his influence to make a change in such delayed society. A fight that was increasing its power all over Bohma and Baveen. People fighting for better causes. People who were willing to give their lives for a higher cause and he wasn't doing anything different, only in a more subtle way. Marrying Sofia, an heir who lived in a country ruled by an Empress. A woman that has proved to be the best ruler their country ever had due to her brilliance, smartness and diplomacy. Why could not a man fight for women's right as well?

Katarina looked down with a saddened gaze. She did have real feelings for Pierce, she liked his ideologies and embraced some of them and once again, she was being left behind. The harsh reality was that they weren't the trio of friends and allies anymore. Christopher left them too soon and now Pierce was about to leave her. Too bad she took too long to realize she could've had loved him too way before when she had spent so much time mourning Christopher.

A little before the sunrise, Katarina left Pierce's bedchamber hoping no one would see her. However, things didn't go as expected as she turned the only corridor and almost bumped into the furious royal heir staring at her in disgust.

"I hope you had a great time together" Sofia Romanov spoke keeping her composure as much as she could. She knew the noble whore had come from Pierce's bedchamber since that single corridor lead to the only chamber there.

Katarina smiled cynically, "As a matter of fact we did… as always!"

"I know you were charming him. Women know these kind of things"

"And I did intend to hide that from you, your highness! It was about time for you to know that Pierce is mine!"

"Yours?"

"Yes, mine! He has loved me for several years"

Sofia didn't back down with the insinuation, "Do you love him?"

"Of course I do! We had plans to get married and have a family…in fact I almost carried a child of his! Unfortunately royal interests have more importance than love these days!"

"So I think I'm in the upper hand here"

"Just because I want to!"

Sofia laughed, "What can a whore do against a grand duchess like me?"

"You'd better not know it!"

"You're just a cheap whore with a cheap title! You have no prestige nor power against me!"

Katarina laughed evilly, "I have the power of love! In addition, do never, ever forget my name, I am Katarina O'Gregon, the one and only owner of Pierce Northman's heart! And you are just a pathetic foreigner!" the noblewoman spoke defiantly giving her back to the royal heir who looked at her enraged

(*)

Pierce was still lying on his bed with his belly up. Katarina's scent all over his body and bed sheets. Remorse taking over him.

He heard a noise in the door and sat up on the bed, "Kat?" he spoke as the door opened

"No. I'm not Kat. My name is Sofia"

Pierce fell doomed in shock. Sofia stared at him damned in sadness.

"I came earlier in excitement and devastation took over me in deception. I could smell you on the whore, and I can smell the whore all over your chamber. You cannot even deny or will you?"

He swallowed and cleared his throat, "I won't"

Sofia bit her lips. His admission seemed harder to take in than a beautiful lie, or she thought so.

"I'm not proud of that…"

"Was that your personal vendetta on me?"

"Personal vendetta?"

"Yes! For declining your offer last night?"

He frowned, "No! Of course not! I didn't even mean to hurt you…"

"Of course not! I was supposedly to not know, right?"

He looked down ashamed

"Great way to start our alliance! But it's what everybody knows… men will always have their whores! Such a regression!"

"I won't see her again! That was the last time"

"Really? Why should I believe you?"

"Because is the truth"

Sofia smirked, "It's the truth! Don't make me laugh!"

Embarrassed, Pierce inhaled, "Sofi…You have all the right to feel hurt and ashamed. I'm aware that I did hurt you… I'm not this kind of man… but Kat… Katarina is different…"

"You have history… I know!"

"Yes, we do have a history but today it ended, forever! I swore myself when she passed that door that I will never bed her again! We both belong to other people now…although you have the decision if you still will want me or not. And if you don't… I will understand!"

Sofia looked away, "It's not in my hands that decision!" she said referring to the fact that her mother was the one who arranged their marriage

"It is in your hands, Sofi… still is"

"Are you asking me to lie to my mother?"

"No, of course not! But you have the choice to forgive me and we start over or not…Maybe your mother can take that in consideration"

The Russian heir didn't respond and they remained in silence for a long time. The damage was done. Both living the deception. One side the young female lived the deception of believing to marry a faithful man. In the other side, the young male lived the deception for surrendering to his darkest desires.

* * *

 **21st Century, 2010**

Piers Nivans and his girlfriend were arriving in a restaurant to have lunch near the BSAA Main Headquarters when Sophie Home told him she had forgotten her cellphone in his car and asked him to wait for her.

"Alright"

The young soldier walked in the direction of the restaurant's door when a middle-aged man left the restaurant in a hurry without even the bother to apologize for stepping in Piers' way.

Piers gave a sniff of disapproval looking at the man with grey hair and cursing him mentally. Soon after he was on his way to a table when he passed by a young brunette woman with long brown wavy hair and brown eyes. Their gazes met as they passed in the opposite direction in the small line between the tables. She was wearing a red colored short dress that reached down to her mid thighs. It fitted her body perfectly, defining her curvaceous figure. The neckline was wide and sleeves were off-shouldered exposing her chest and shoulders. Her high heels only made her walk look even sexier. Her makeup was perfect which enhanced her femininity and natural beauty, the red lipstick only made her look even more sensual.

She smiled to him softly. He smiled back as they passed by. The scent of her perfume intrigued him. Unconsciously he looked back and saw her walking away from the restaurant. His eyes were glued on her, so much that he didn't even notice his girlfriend was looking at him after passing by the girl. Both women exchanged gazes, non-friendly gazes.

"Do you know her?" Sophie asked him as she stepped closer to Piers

He heard Sophie's voice in a distant but near distance, looking at her in confusion, "Who?"

"The one in red dress"

Piers laughed in distress noticing his girlfriend's jealous, "I thought I did, but I'm mistaken"

Sophie mumbled crossing her arms with incredulity.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the words dear, you rock! :D**

 **I hope you liked the chapter and I hope I didn't bring much confusion xD  
You can always ask me to clarify anything or even give me suggestions so I can give you a better work :D**

 **There's a lot to come and as the usual...**

 **Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. Some OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Somewhere**

"Tell me what you've got"

"Things are shaken and cloudy. She was seen leaving his bedchamber in the castle by the Empress' daughter. The marriage hadn't been canceled so far but the diplomacy has been shaken. The possible scandalous at the court hadn't reached her father because he's in expedition…"

"And I will be the joke if that scandalous comes out!"

"Yes my lord. My best suggestion to you is to cancel the wedding while there is still time…"

"Of course! But not before I teach her how a real man is! And you can be sure that that boy on his diapers will pay a high price for confronting me and will see what a real man can do for his dignity!

The rumors about Katarina started once again and it was evident the break in the alliance of Bohma and Russia as the Empress and her daughter returned to their home without any especial ceremony as the usual habit.

For Katarina's father dismay, the rumors this time about his daughter's conduct were too loud to ignore and after scolding her, he punished her by locking her in the chamber for several days and hoped he could speak with the Duke before the spread of the rumors to his ears.

A couple of days later, the Duke invited Katarina and Pierce to a dinner at his palace, without any of them to have knowledge of their presences. He wanted to confront the infamous couple and teach them a lesson.

The Duke checked the clock. Pierce hadn't arrived yet which made the duke anxious and angrier as the time passed.

"That miserable is not coming… They might have had some sort of contact!" he wondered to the limit of irritation

He burst through the palace doors aggressively, startling the servants that were going on about their business in the room. A bunch of handmaidens rushed over to offer him water and some refreshments but he didn't wait to acknowledge their presence, as he past them to find his fiancée. He roared asking for her whereabouts whilst climbing the stairs and some meek servant told him she was resting in her personal chamber.

At once the man turned to head for the Katarina's bedchamber; the beautiful woman he had been dreaming to make his bride someday. He had done everything and gone out the way to win her heart but she never saw him the way he saw her or even bothered to acknowledge his feelings for her. He was hoping that she would eventually be able to love him once they were engaged but the reality turned out to be something completely opposite.

He was having a tough time believing that of all people, it was Katarina who betrayed his like that. He knew that she didn't like him but he would have never ever thought of it in his dreams that his fiancée could be having a public affair and that too with a mere Knight of the Kingdom.

The Duke's blood's just boiled imagining the woman he desired dearly in the arms of another man. He couldn't stop his mind from thinking about what Katarina and Pierce might have been doing when they were alone together, as walked through the hallways to get to the bedchamber. With each passing second, his over active imagination would inject a disturbing image of Katarina and Pierce in his mind, making him angrier by the minute.

He quickened his walking pace, when the big bedchamber door came into his sight. He ordered Katarina's handmaidens to leave to their chambers and then took hold of both the door handles and pushed it open with as violently as he had before. He stepped inside the woman's bedchamber, too angry to bother about common courtesy. His eyes instantly darted over to the sole figure in the room that seemed to have slightly startled at his sudden appearance.

Katarina let out a bored sigh and rolled her eyes at the Duke, just the sight of the man was enough to ignite her repulsiveness. If it wasn't for her public punishment and the agreement her father and the repulsive man had, she would have never tolerated to be in the same place as him. She tried to ignore his presence and got to admiring herself in the mirror. She put on a golden necklace, which had her family's heirloom, as the Duke closed the distance between them.

"We need to talk", the man tried to civil and control his anger.

The brown haired woman looked at the duke through the mirror, "I am busy", was the only thing she said, grabbing her perfume and spraying it on herself.

"This can't wait", the duke told her, curling his fingers into a fists.

"Do I look like I care", Katarina spoke in a carefree tone moving away from him, towards her bed, "Now get out of my chamber. I need to rest", she spoke with an evident tone of contempt.

"I am not going anywhere", the Duke raised his voice at her and she shot an angry look at him as well, "Are you spraying perfume to meet him behind my back?"

She gasped, "What?"

"That scumbag… Your lover… I need to know if you're having an affair with Pierce Northman."

"That is just another stupid rumor!", the woman response with weight on her voice and shook her head.

"You're my fiancée!", the man said stepping really close to her, "I cannot tolerate more of these stupid rumors! Are you sleeping with him?", he questioned.

Katarina could stop herself from shooting him a disgusted look, "Get out of my chamber!", was the only thing she said to him, before making an attempt to move away from the man, who was extremely repulsive.

The Duke grabbed hold of her arm, "Answer me!", he demanded stopping her from moving.

"Leave me!", she screamed angrily, revolted to having been touched by him.

"I am not leaving without an answer!", he pressed on knowing the answer.

"So what if I did?", Katarina spoke acidly, finally able to jerk her arm off his grip.

"What does he have that I don't?", the noble man asked feeling dejected.

"Everything!", she replied coldly pushing him away, "Now get the hell out, before I call the guards of the palace!"

The Duke was left standing there feeling both humiliated and rejected, while Katarina stood near the bed without an expression on her face. She gave him another disgusted glance and tried to shoo him away like he was some beggar on the street or even worse, a trash a dog had eaten. He spared her a glance, before dragging his feet all the way back to the door, and she told him to close the door on his way out.

He grabbed both the handles of the door, knowing completely well that there was only one way to get what he wanted and it would be by taking it forcefully. He shut the doors and locked it from inside, determined to get what he deserved and to make Pierce feel powerless when he heard the news about him and Katarina and to feel the taste he could do nothing against a Duke as he himself was a close friend of the King's.

Katarina watched the Duke locking the door from inside, and she couldn't help but ask him what he was trying to do out of confusion, as he backtracked back to her bed. She could see a fire raging in his eyes, as undid the buttons of his coat. Before she could understand anything, he was grabbing hold of her shoulders, pushing her down on the mattress with an immense force and climbed on top of her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?", Katarina asked not keeping the annoyance off her tone, as the duke kept her pinned down with his weight.

"Getting what I want", the duke said leaning in closer to her face.

"Get off of me!", she tried to push him away and hit him to let her go but he didn't ceased.

The Duke didn't listen to her and took hold both in one of his hands while his other hand ran wild, feeling the soft curves of her body. Katarina screamed and struggled, trying to get herself lose but felt somewhat helpless against the man, who was twice her size.

Just as the man leaned in to capture her lips, she managed to release one of her hands from his grip. She instinctively slapped the duke, putting all her strength in that one slap that the sound of it echoed in the room. The duke sat up straight and she thought that he would give up now but the next moment he grinded his jaws and pulled out his belt.

He tried to grab both of her arms and tied her up, but Katarina knew if she let that happen then she wouldn't be able to save herself. She reached out to whatever she could grab off her bedside table and threw it on to her attacker. He moved to dodge that projectile and she got the chance to push him off herself.

Katarina hurriedly crawled off the bed and made a run to save herself. She hurriedly unlocked the door and rushed out the room, calling for help. She looked over her shoulder whilst running to see the Duke following her and she knew he could catch up to her anytime. She tried to run to the entrance hall of the palace, where she thought there were guards and servants that could help her. But just as she reached the top of the stairs, the duke got hold of her.

The brunette struggled, shouting out for help and trying herself to release but this time his grip was even tighter. She hit him, pushed him back and pulled away from him, as if they were playing tug or war. She didn't realize when they both lost their footing and fell from the top of the stairs. She reflexively screamed out of pain, as they both rolled down the stairs together, finally crashing at the bottom of the stairs.

Katarina pulled herself from the Duke and looked down at his limp form, while his blood formed a pool around his head.

Her expression in complete shock as she looked up to see Pierce coming to her way with a perplexed expression

"Kat?"

"It was an accident!" she whispered

The other guards and servants joined them in the room, horrified with the scene.

* * *

" _Hello my dear Christopher, how are you? It's been a while since we haven't seen each other. How are things there? I wonder everything is all right. I know you know how to keep things in order and well organized._

 _I've had some of the most restless night of my entire life and all the brief moments I fall into sleep I have nightmares concerning doctors and my body; my sexuality. And to make it worse, the hours seem to be flying and is only a matter of time until the midwife comes to ruin my life forever._

 _Yes, I said a midwife! My stepmother had the brilliant idea to verify my virginity. I've never been in such situation before. I wonder if it's really that visible the broken hymen. The day she said that I almost panicked, she informed me of the surprise for the next day, but I was luckily saved by the bell and my father returned home on time to stop that. For the first time, I felt he was on my side once in my life!_

 _But I don't think I'm so spared from that…_

 _And with all that said, I have good news! My father is waiting for your visit to our home. He's looking forward to meeting you! I am so excited but so nervous at the same time! I really hope he will bless our relationship!_

 _PS: remember I told him you are a landowner! We need to find a good excuse for you to be in town and I told him we met in the Peasant Village because I fear they think you live in the lake manor!_

 _PS: More importantly I LOVE YOU!"_

(*)

The so waited day arrived. The preparations in the Stafford's' Manor started the day prior to the scheduled date. Mr. Stafford was to meet the husband aspirant of his eldest daughter. He did look forward to that, which got Angelique to feel in the clouds but also anxious. She wished her father would like Christopher and bless their matrimony. However not everything was like roses in the Stafford's, Mrs. Amelia Stafford – Angelique's stepmother – didn't hide her displease about the event, even when she disguised her bitter comments from behind her husband, her bad temper demonstrated her real feelings about the whole situation, which had caused some arguments between her and Mr. Stafford.

Christopher Reed arrived in the Lake Province, where the Stafford's manor situated, on a Saturday morning. The village, seemed more organized in comparison to the Peasant Village. He arrived earlier so he could buy himself more presentable clothing so Angelique's father could buy their story, since his best clothes was his uniform and he wouldn't take the risk to wear it. With the saved money from his work he bought a white cotton shirt with a lace-edged jabot topped with sleeveless waistcoat and a long-sleeved justaucorps, and a long green overcoat. Below he wore green satin knee breeches and silk hose held at the knee with garters. He didn't like wearing the wig of that time, which some considered a rebel side of his.

He checked the address he noted on a piece of paper and with the help of some inhabitants, he managed to find the right location. Standing up in front of the two stories manor gate alongside his horse, he took a long deep breathe before calling out for them.

Ah! His heart was pacing so fast. That was the first time he was going to be introduced to a girl's family, despite his considered sexual appearance. He was so nervous. He wasn't even sure of what he would have to say. His nervousness could be compared to the first time he battled on field, the unexpected, the news. Maybe he even felt more comfortable in a warzone than here, right now, about to meet his girlfriend's family. He sucked in all the apprehension and kept the controlled composure he was known to have when in battle.

For his brief relief, Angelique was the one to come to him happily wearing a simple and long light blue dress with white long sleeves, no cleavage. She smiled to him as she welcomed him.

"You look so beautiful Angely" he complimented her with a gentle kiss on her hand following the greeting tradition of the time

"Thank you! You look really handsome Chris!" she was mesmerized with his charm, a charm she had never seen in him before, which reminded her of his life at the court.

Angelique's father watched the young couple from the window, not missing any detail of the young man. By his appearance, he did seem to have possessions.

"Good morning, Mr.?" the older man greeted giving his grip

"Christopher… you can call me Christopher"

"Christopher, nice to meet you. Please take a seat"

The young man was nervous, but he never faltered. Mr. Stafford assumed Christopher was who he said to be, a landowner. New money since he didn't come from a traditional family, but still a member of the club. The stepmother, of course, could always be counted upon.

"Tell us about where you have your lands and how you got it"

"I have a land in Arthena that I inherited from my father and in the Peasant Village's frontier with the Lake Province" he replied calmly

"And how is it you have means, only by inheritance?" the woman questioned

"No. I learned carpentry and blacksmith from my late uncle. I actually enjoy laboring and whatever labor needs me, I'll be there making more money"

The Stafford's lifted their eyebrows simultaneously sharing the same reaction about the man's skill.

"And where do you intend to live with Angelique?" the head of the Stafford's asked

"Wherever she feels more comfortable"

"And you find that sort of ruthless existence appealing, do you?" the woman asked lifting an eyebrow

"Well, yes ma'am I do. I mean, I've got everything I need right here with me; I've got air in my lungs and functional muscles and professions that I can take anywhere with me. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's going to happen, who I'm going meet, where I'm going to wind up. I figure life is a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You never know what hand you're going to get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you."

"Now I can see why you and Angelique met. You both share the same vision of life" the man commented

"Yes sir. Angelique's essence is what captivates me every single day. Her talents impress me and because of her I started seeing Art with other eyes and do really enjoy it's meaning and importance"

"What about her physical… talents?" the stepmother jumped in the conversation with a visible acid tone

"Ophelia!" Mr. Stafford scolded her. Angelique looked down in distress squeezing her hands under the table.

She shrugged not feeling intimidated by her husband's advertency, "I shall ask that! As the lead female figure in Angelique's life, I do have concerns about her inviolability. I suppose that a man of your standards might have principles and idealizations for the woman you will share your life with, do you?"

"Ophelia!"

"it's a pertinent question. She has talent to be a nun, don't you think?" she insisted

"As the family's head I forbid you to ask directly any more questions of such levels that are not of your business!"

"I know you prefer to marry your daughter but I'd suggest you to hire someone to verify her virginity. She has the habit to visit the lake manor and stays there for long periods of time 'alone' more than a prude woman could do."

The man frowned at her suggestion, "Are you implying that my daughter is not a virgin anymore?"

"No my dear, I'm not implying. I'm just suggesting you to do something that is normal under the future marital status of your beloved daughter. I presume that her future husband, Christopher, might prefer a virgin… unless they might have met alone there… I wouldn't doubt that…"

"I don't like your tone"

"It's not my tone, but my sincerity"

"Angelique is not that type! She's still the same, shy and quiet as always! I don't need to verify her virginity. A woman changes when she loses her purity and Angelique hadn't changed at all!"

"She seems happier…"

"She's in love!"

"Women give themselves for love…"

"Stop it! I forbid you to speak that way about my daughter!"

The woman gave a single nod with a cynic smile, "Women know women… It doesn't hurt to ask his preferences…" she spoke with a shrug

"It's enough! Not all women are like you!"

"You still married me knowing it all…"

"Yes I did and that's why you don't have a word on that matter about my daughter's purity!"

"No intimacy until marriage" the man spoke with a warning tone

Christopher took a sip of the wine, while Angelique's face turned into vivid red and then looked down in distress as inevitably the blush formed on her cheeks.

Her father interpreted her distress as shyness on the matter, "I'm sorry Christopher. I didn't want to cause you any inconvenience with my wife, but as you could see, she has a tongue bigger than her mouth at times"

"It's alright Mr. Stafford. I don't mind about her –pertinent – concern. We still live in a puritan society and it's not that I see it wrong, but I do believe that women's value goes further than just a mere physical detail… I know Angelique is a pure girl and I don't have the necessity of such verification considering it'd be a true violation of her purity and angelical soul"

Mr. Stafford smiled at the young man's statement and did bless their union. He did agree that such exam would be compelling and disturbing for his daughter. As the hours passed, the man invited Christopher to spend the night in their house, as at that time of the night, taking on a trip could be dangerous. Angelique made sure to prepare the guest chamber for Christopher. She couldn't hide her happiness, but the young couple did control their enthusiasm and caring demonstrations to not get her father's attention and much less the stepmother's.

Mr. Stafford headed to the bedchamber to sleep, his wife was taking care of their child. Noticing everyone had parted to their chambers, the woman walked slowly to the guest chamber and in silence watched Christopher attentively and delighted without losing any detail of him changing his clothes. She could tell there was something different about Christopher, but she couldn't name what different thing that could be. There was a different energy on him, his way to act, his posture. He seemed to be someone with high education and manners, a different composure. She had no doubts he was a man of possessions. He had the looks of it. He also was a handsome man. Quite handsome in her opinion, especially for Angelique and that bothered her to the core. How could such a stupid girl with mediocre looks have such a man's heart?

A couple of days had passed. Angelique was happy with her father approval of Christopher, the older man went on an expedition. Angelique was packing a bag to go to the lake manor in the meantime.

"Going to your hideout so soon?" the woman asked with a mischievous tone

"Yes I am."

"I wish your father could see that!"

"See what? It's no secret I spend my time there. Someone needs to watch out for that place not to mention the landscape increases my creativity!"

"I'm sure your creativity is increased there…"

Angelique rolled her eyes. That woman would never switch the page and without saying any other word, she left to the Lake Manor where she met Christopher.

They were sitting at the lakeshore, admiring the beauty of the landscape. The contrast of colors of the vivid green of the trees and the crystalline blue of the water accompanied by the enchanting sounds of the birds chirping.

"I'm so happy Chris! I still cannot believe the lake has brought you to me and soon we will be together for the rest of our lives as husband and wife with the blessing of my father!" the young redhead woman spoke in excitement resting back and head on her lover's chest as she was sitting between his legs

"Yes indeed! And I never thought that jumping in that river wondering it was going to lead me to my death, actually led me to the love and happiness of my life!" he replied smiling largely as he hugged her tighter and kissed the back of her neck

"I love you so much… I wish we could stay like this forever…"

"And we will!"

"How?"

He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "Just close your eyes… This is our place, our sacred place… imagine a portrait of us in this exact moment. Our energies will remain here, the portrait will get eternal life through your exceptional hands, and when you finish it, we will hang it on the wall where everybody who enters the manor will see and feel this moment lingering that will endure through time and generations…"

Angelique was smiling at the image. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her face to him who smiled tenderly before leaning over to seal their kind moment while in the redhead's mind a full movie formed for her next set of portrait tale.

 _A set of several paintings. A set that was called: Love Beyond Time._

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, Bohma**

 **Museum of Art, Beyond Time Exhibition**

"I didn't know you liked art that much…" the second in command of Chris Redfield commented with a tease

"I didn't know you did either!" Chris replied not falling in the tease

Piers laughed in distress

"Learning a bit of culture won't hurt anyone, will it?" Chris commented with a jokingly tone

Piers shrugged, "I know what kind of culture you came to learn…" he teased making a face

Chris frowned defensively, "I just came because that girl invited… I couldn't just say no…"

Piers gasped, "Why not? You do that all the time!"

"I don't do that all the time" Chris protested

"Right!" Piers spoke with incredulity

"I'm trying to change…" Chris replied in distress turning his face to the other direction

Piers laughed, "Let's see about that!" he spoke with incredulity, "I know you're just trying to score with her"

"So what? Is there a problem with that?"

"No, not at all. Actually it's good to know you're a human too… I was starting to wonder if you're a virgin…"

Chris rolled his eyes, "Hahaha, not funny!"

"Come on! You know what people think after knowing so many declines you do to people… and you also knows what else they say…"

"I don't give a fuck to what they say. My private life is no one's business, including you!"

"True that, but so why did you bring me with you to this exhibition?"

Chris smiled with a mischievous expression, "Because you seem to enjoy art as much as I do!"

Piers rolled his eyes

"Because I had two tickets, that's all!" Chris added after noticing his friend's reaction to his provocation, "And don't tell me you're not enjoying because I noticed how mesmerized you are with that brunette painting…" he paused to read the name of the painting, "Katarina…" he added

"I don't deny she was a beautiful woman…"

Chris gave another look at the painting, examining it. Unconsciously he frowned, "I have seen better… possibly the artist made her look better than she really was…"

"Geez! Why so much bitterness? I think she's intriguing"

"I think she's deadly! Her eyes… remind me of mutated Alexia Ashford!"

Piers laughed, "What? Who?"

"A B.O.W. I destroyed several years ago when I saved Claire in Antarctica"

"I think you are exaggerating by comparing Katarina with the B.O.W."

Chris shrugged. He wouldn't change his opinion just like he knew Piers wouldn't change his opinion about the brunette's stunning beauty. Chris wouldn't say that loud, but it was undeniable the woman's outstanding beauty and by the portrait he could tell she was a forward woman for her time. He could tell that by short-sleeved dress exposing her arms and a generous cleavage. Shy less. Probably he was just poisoned by the story his sister had told him about her trip to Bohma some time ago.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the words dear, you're amazing! :D  
Special thanks to my friend JennaWilliams for helping me with a part of the chapter  
**

 **So the Duke is dead, huh! Katarina "got rid" of his influence once and for, but how will that impact her? What consequences will it bring?**

 **In the other hand, Angelique living the best phase of her life!**

 **I'm sorry for taking longer to update, I'm busy with my education and hopefully I will update soon! :D**

 **And as the usual, Stay Tuned!**


	12. Eternal Bonds

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. Some OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

 _"It is hot today; the wind blows over the flat fields and marshes with the stink of the plague. In weather like this, if my sister were still with me and the war had ceased, we would not be trapped in one place, watching a leaden dawn and a sunset of dull red; we would be traveling with the king's court, on progress through the weald and downland of Baveen and Arthena, the richest and most beautiful countryside in all of Bohma, riding high on the hilly roads and looking out for the first sight of the sea. We would be out hunting every morning, dining under the thick canopy of the trees at midday and dancing in the great hall of some country house at night in the yellow light of flickering torches. We were friends with the greatest families in the land, we were the favorites of the king, kin to the queen. We were beloved; we were the O'Gregon's, the most beautiful, sophisticated family at the court. They were Reed and Northman._

 _Nobody knew Christopher Reed without desiring him, nobody could resist Pierce Northman, everyone courted me as a passport to their attention. Christopher was dazzling – dark brown hair, light brown-eyed, and handsome, very handsome - always mounted on the finest horses, always at the side of the King. Pierce was at the peak of his beauty and his wits, as alluring as honey. And I went everywhere with them._

 _The two of them used to ride together, racing, neck and neck like partners or even real siblings, and I could hear their laughter over the thudding of the hooves as they went flying by. Sometimes, when I saw them together, so rich, so young, so beautiful, I could not tell which of them I loved more._

 _All the court was besotted with the two of them, those dark Knight flirtatious looks, their high living: such gamblers, such lovers of risk; both so fervent for their reform of the politics and safety, so quick and clever in argument, so daring in their reading and thoughts. From the king to the kitchen maid there was not one person who was not dazzled by the pair of them._

 _Even now, two years on, I cannot believe that I will never see them again. Surely, a pair so young, so radiant with life, cannot simply die? In my mind, in my heart, they are still riding out together, still young, still beautiful. And why would I not passionately long for this to be true?_

 _It has been only two years since the day in the tavern; two years, two months, and nine days since his careless fingers brushed against mine… Christopher… It still feels like it was just yesterday…_

 _Two years, two months, and nine days later, my skin is consoled by Pierce's._

 _There is no comparison…"_

 **O'Gregon Palace**

Elizabeth O'Gregon was sitting on a small bench next to the bathtub where she helped her sister Katarina to bath. Since the day of the death of the Duke, Katarina seemed to be in a shock behavior. She no longer was the cheerful and talkative woman she used to be. Now she spent most of her time locked in her bedchamber, silent and distant.

In two occasions, Katarina was forced to leave their home to be questioned about the fatality. And every time she had to revive all those memories again, she returned home nearly in a mental collapse. The family's doctor, Vladimir, prescribed sedatives for her, which always made her sleep for long periods.

"I heard the king wants to speak with you tomorrow"

"Again…"

"Yes. The death of the Duke is a matter of the State."

"I am so tired… tired of repeating the same thing over and over… they do not give me time to forget it all and keep dragging me to that horrendous evening!"

"It is part of the investigation…"

"No! It is because I am a woman! They want me to say I killed him! They cannot accept that the idiot lost the footing first and dragged both us to the ground and to his death! They cannot accept that a man like him died because of his own stupidity, so they want to blame me for the stupidity!"

"I don't think they're trying to incriminate you. They just want to be sure of the truth"

"The truth or their truth?"

"I don't know sister. I just think that they're not trying to incriminate you"

Katarina rolled her eyes shaking her head. It was pointless continuing discussing that matter. The matter she wished she would just forget but seemed an impossible thing to do because every time she was almost there, something happened to make her remember the whole thing and give her testimonies once again.

* * *

 **Peasant Land**

"You can open your eyes now" Christopher spoke to Angelique as he stopped the horse they were riding on. Excitement was visible on the man's face as he stared at the small cottage ahead of them.

"Oh my god, Christopher! You did that?" Angelique asked surprised seeing the finished construction in the land Christopher had showed her several months ago

"Yeah… most of it! But I did have help of two acquaintances from the village"

"Your tavern mates?"

He nodded with a shrug, "Yeah…"

"I have plenty of free time… plus I feared the peeking of someone from your family"

"Yes, of course! I feared that too but still can't believe you made this!"

He smiled proudly, "There is more. Shall we go in?"

She nodded in agreement.

The cottage was simple, but cozy. Christopher had proved he had carpentry skills, for a moment she had thought he had just made that up to her father. She was mistaken for thinking that. Now seeing his work in the building and furniture, made her feel proud of him and congratulate him for everything.

"I told you I was going to build our future, Angely! This is our home, no longer a hideout" he spoke embracing her from behind

"We don't have to hide anymore!"

"No, we don't!" he turned her to him and leaned his face sealing their lips into a passionate kiss

A while later she broke the kiss, "I so missed this!"

"This what?"

"This… you. Me. together… alone"

"Doing what?" he asked teasing her, encouraging her to not feel embarrassed to say those things, freeing her from her shell of shyness

"Doing this… kissing. In private."

"Don't be embarrassed to say what we do for me, Angely… it's a natural thing between a couple in love"

She laughed in distress, "When we make love…" she spoke quickly looking away

He couldn't help the laugh. She was cute. A girl still to be molded into a woman. He caressed her face gently, easing her. He leaned closer to kiss her again, slowly progressing the intensity of their passion. He guided her hands to where he wanted her to touch him, feel him, removing his shirt so she could feel the bare skin of his chest and back while his mouth found her neck and planted bites and licks causing her shivers and subtle moans, preparing her to feel the rest of him as his pelvis rubbed against her.

While her hands travelled his torso, his hands freed her clothing. Their bare chests against each other while his tongue sunk into her mouth in a wet and fiery kiss. He took her in his lap, she straddled his waist waiting for him to take her to their private room, and instead he took her to the seat in front of the fireplace and knelt in front of her as he spread her legs.

"What are you doing?"

"Relax…" he looked up licking his lips with a naughty expression

That was weird. A new experience. A new and great sensation. Still weird when she looked down between her legs. It felt like a sin and she wasn't even that much of a religious girl. She took a while to overpass the image of him down to her folds. But it felt good. A good and of the most pleasant sin. No hurry. Patiently. Her moans grown louder.

He licked his wet lips and slowly worked her body up, as his fingers continued stroking her folds, pushing and stretching her to make room for him. Her eyes were closed, her legs wide open. His tongue and lips travelled her skin up until finding her nipples. She was in the verge to climax again as her hips moved as she squeezed his fingers and pulled them deeper inside.

When her orgasm subsided, he removed his hand and slid slowly up her body, her silky skin further enflaming him. He licked the shell of her ear and whispered, "Is that what you wanted, my love?"

"Yes" she said breathlessly, "Wait, no. I wanted to feel you inside me, but that… was beyond what I wanted…"

"Did you like it?"

She smiled in a naughty way, "Yes!"

"I am yours to command"

He brushed his tip against her opening. She was wetter than he could ever have imagined.

"Wait"

"What? Did I hurt you?"

"No. This I already know, now teach me…"

"Teach you what?"

"How you like that… down there" she looked down and sitting up, "It should be reciprocal, no?" she grabbed him gently and imitated his lip licking before leaning over him and follow his guidance.

That day was just the beginning of the new level their relationship and intimacy reached. During the days at their new home, the young couple continued arranging the furniture. Soon they would be Mr. and Mrs. Reed.

The small cottage was just the start of Christopher's big dream of a family. A family he wanted to have with Angelique, his true love. The bright future never so right and plausible to happen and as their family increased, he himself would enhance their home and build more rooms for their children.

* * *

 **Northman Palace**

The morning sun light illuminated the master chamber. The sun throwing its beams on the young couple laying in the bed peacefully half covered by the sheets. Pierce had his arm around Katarina and hauled her back against his chest, enveloping her in a delicious warmth.

She felt so safe in his arms. There was a calming comfort in the circle of his arms, a curious contentment, as if she was protected and cherished. Her hand caressed his chest skin as she watched him sleeping. She still couldn't believe what he had done for her the last time she was interrogated about the Duke's death.

 **Flashback**

"I have already explained in tiny details how it happened! What else do you want me to say?"

"The Duke was a wise man to run after you and stumble off the stairs like you are saying" the duke's sister spoke with incredulity

"But it is the truth!" Katarina almost yelled already starting to lose control of her emotions

"You're not all that to have made my beloved brother to lose control of himself! Unless you are a witch!"

"What? I am not witch!"

"It's the only reasonable explanation to justify my brother's stupid actions!"

"He chased me, tried to assault me and I am the witch? I am the victim here!"

"Women like you are no victims! They get what they deserve!"

"It's enough!" yelled the king pissed with their argument

"I'm sorry your majesty. I'm just trying to stand up for my late and beloved brother who you knew so well and his wisdom"

"I also know how obsessed the Duke was for his fiancée."

"Exactly! His obsession was his perdition!"

"There are no witnesses who can prove Lady Katarina O'Gregon did push the man down the stairs, however there was a witness who saw everything and confirms her version of the facts"

"Who?"

"My favorite and trusty man, Pierce Northman"

"Her lover? Are you serious?!" the woman yelled outraged

"He's not her lover"

"No? Have you forgotten his recent story with the so called noblewoman while he himself was committed to another woman? A grand duchess?"

"No I have not and please watch out your voice tone towards me. everyone makes mistakes and he already redeemed from his mistake. Pierce has a long history of loyalty and integrity that couldn't obfuscate all the good he has done for me and the kingdom! The man has become a hero and the passion, like in both cases, have led great men to commit such mistakes for a woman, the Lady Katarina O'Gregon. And I tell more, Pierce has proved your brother, the Duke, had invited him for a dinner the fatidic day which demonstrates he planned everything that unfortunately caused his death. Passion, milady, passion leads men, any man, to commit mistakes. So with all that said, I give my final verdict on the matter and I pronounce Lady Katarina O'Gregon innocent from the charges and the Duke's death was a sad accident"

"Witch!" the woman screamed in devastation

 **End of Flashback**

 _After hearing the king's statement, I could not content myself in relief. That subject was finally over and the Duke could finally be put to sleep forever. Still, that verdict had a bittersweet taste. I knew there were no witnesses of the exact moment of our foot losing. Actually, even I started doubting of what had really happened. had I pushed him? was it me who lost the foot first? Was it the Duke? either ways, I could not think about that happening. Nothing would change that. All I wanted was to forget the image of a living person in one second and the next the person is dead. My reason told me I was defending myself, but still I felt bad about the whole chain of events and now after knowing Pierce had lied to save me, only made me see how great his love is for me._

 _Although, that was not the end of my story, of our story. The following day, the king requested my father's visit and when my father returned home, he immediately called me to the library_ :

 **Flashback**

"Are you really fond of Pierce Northman?"

"Yes my father. I have great appreciation for him"

"I thought you loved Christopher…"

"Christopher is dead. Pierce is all I have now and he does make me happy!"

"Would you change your rebel behavior for him? Get your dignity back? Our family's?"

"I do not understand what you are asking me…"

"Katarina… if I reconsider your marriage to Pierce… who is a new noblewoman now… would the bad rumors about you stop?"

"Of course father! I am not a whore like they say! I know Pierce can make me happy! He does make me very happy! I was a foolish to not have had realized that before… and my feelings for him got even stronger after your denial months ago and now more than ever all I want is him!"

"Alright… I will give you this vote of trust. That's all that is left for me to do…" the man spoke defeated

 **End of Flashback**

 _With our affair going public, somehow a big weight had been removed from my shoulders, the pretending to be a virgin. Differently from what I had thought, I had not been questioned about when I had lost my virginity or how many lovers I had. My family did respect my privacy, most probably due to embarrassment. They have had enough of my dramas._

 _A few days later the announcement of our engagement, the prince and close friend of mine, ended up confirming me about his father suggestion to my father. We all knew that when the king suggested something, it was actually an order. I was not surprised, I just wished that suggestion had come way long ago, when I had the certainty that Pierce could be Christopher's replacement and had qualities that surpassed my expectations for a man and did have something Christopher did not… real feelings for me._

 _Now once more we are the talk of the town… and while he is going on a trip with the king's family, I will continue setting the marriage details! I do not want anything simple for our ceremony… nothing is simple with me!_

 _I heard there are beautiful ornaments in the Lake Province._

* * *

 **21** **st** **century**

A brunette woman, with long hair shut the door of her apartment and threw her purse angrily on the couch.

"Woah, what happened Kate?" her roomate asked raising her eyebrows

"I hate that son of a bitch! If I knew it I wouldn't have had gone to that stupid lunch!" the brunette spoke in annoyance

"Douglas?"

"Yes, the one!" she almost yelled

"Did you fight again?"

The brunette rolled her eyes in annoyance, "What do you think?"

"What now?"

"He got jealous again! He saw me talking to a classmate and now he thinks I have something with him! Can you believe that? Who Douglas thinks he is? My owner? He fucks his wife and other women and I am not allowed to have friends? Something is wrong in this equation!"

"Yes, it is… starting with you being his mistress for what? 4 years?"

"5 years next month…"

"You see! You sleep with a married man for 5 years. You should be used to his possessiveness, no?"

"I won't stop having friends because of him! He is the cheater, I am single!"

"Some men are jealous of their mistresses…"

"I don't even like him! All I need is his money, which by the way, I didn't get a single penny because he called only to have a fight! Damn it! All I want is to finish this graduation and get a good job so I can finally put an end in this! He's so disgusting!"

"I don't know how you're capable of doing that… you don't even like the guy and sleeps with him"

"I do not sleep with him! I fuck him! And it's even a bad fuck! That old man cannot even satisfy me!"

The other woman couldn't help her laughter. She was already used to her rommate's complaints. Katherine O'Donnel was ambitious enough to subjugate herself to a man she disgusted but seemed unable to cut ties with him, Douglas a CEO of a Medical Company.

"Oh, by the way. My day was not all that bad…"

"Really? Got a new crush?"

"In fact I did!"

"I hope Douglas hadn't seen him"

"No, he didn't. He had already left when I crossed paths with a BSAA guy. I could see the logo on his uniform jacket and the restaurant was nearby their building"

"Hum, so now we have Mr. BSAA to talk about?"

The brunette let out a frustrated sigh, "Not yet… we only exchanged gazes and smiles. His girlfriend was coming our way, so I didn't stop to greet him..."

"Well, at least you know where to find him…"

"Yes I do!" Kate replied with a naughty expression, "And he's worth it! Strangely in just seeing him made me forget I was having a one hell of a day!"

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the super review! :D**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Twists and turns ahead, the drama is coming! xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	13. Deadly Alliance

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story plot belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains some sexual content**

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

 **Museum of Art of Bohma**

Piers Nivans turned his face again to the painting of Katarina wearing a sumptuous long golden half-sleeved gown with a revealing cleavage. Her long dark curly hair and a golden tiara on top of her head and gold jewelry as if she was belonged to royalty as she held a long golden scepter with an imposing figure. Her eyes were fiery.

"Comparing her to a monster is an exaggeration for me…" he spoke to himself with a mix of feelings

"Didn't you hear her story?"

Piers looked to the side as he heard a voice that belonged to an old man next to him who was looking at the painting with an unreadable gaze.

"I'm sorry for listening to your conversation with your friend" the old man apologized with a kind smile

"It's alright. We're in a public place after all…no secret told…" the young man replied

The old man continued smiling until his face turned to the painting once again. The smile immediately faded from his face.

"You think she's a 'monster' too?" Piers couldn't help to ask

"Oh boy…There's so much you don't know about Katarina… that pretty face hides so much poison… Surely she did great things, especially for women's rights…but even her embraced cause for feminism seemed blurred in darkness…"

Piers let out an annoyed sigh as he rolled his eyes. Another one against Katarina. The man should shake hands with Chris.

"I don't know her history but I do know that back in the days the moral of society was darker… Not that the morale nowadays is that great either…"

"Tell that to the people who lost their lives because of her"

"Human rights didn't exist in those days… the history is full of killing and murders for the smallest reasons…"

The old man stared at Piers, studying him, reading him. The young man's words and posture got his attention. Somehow that seemed so familiar to him, "There's logic in your words and no doubt you have reason in saying that… I must say that if I hadn't just met you in this century, I'd say you somehow remind me of Pierce Northman…" the man pointed to a solo painting of the late man wearing a sumptuous military outfit indicating his high ranking

Piers looked at the painting with a strong mix of feelings. Mesmerized but at the same time a strong and strange sadness.

* * *

 **17** **th** **Century**

Just right after the sunrise, Pierce Northman was lying on his bed with Katarina lying on his arm and her face resting on his chest as they talked after a wild and pleasant night. He caressed her arm while she caressed his abdomen. The scent of her skin drove him crazy and even after 18 months since Christopher's death and nearly one year since he and Katarina had their first night, he still felt incredible and sometimes unbelievable that Katarina was his now. A thought that seemed to be unlikely for so many years. Impossible as Katarina always demonstrated her favoritism for Christopher since the very first time her eyes laid on him, while Pierce felt the same way towards her since his eyes laid on her in that day in the garden of the king's castle. An impossible future now was bound to happen as they planned together every detail of their wedding that will happen after his next trip.

"Do you really have to go?" the brunette woman spoke with a whiny tone as she passed her fingernails on his skin, immediately causing him shivers

"Yes, I do… I serve the king…wherever he goes, I go too…" he replied with a sigh

"I do not like when you go on such trips"

"Why?"

"Besides that I miss you and get worried about your safety… you know now I Hate being left alone since the Duke… and well… you were and are the one with me all this long. I fear losing you, my only support now…" she hugged him tight

"You still have your family too…"

"You do know that is not true! You know my father nearly despises of me since he learned I am not pure anymore and thinks I did kill that _**Rantallion**_! And my mother is a stupid submissive who goes on whatever my father believes! I only have Elizabeth… who is not that much of a support with her tendency to submission as well!"

"She's not that submissive. She did speak out on your favor in the trial"

She gasped, "About that…but the other things she nearly helped condemning me for being a passionate woman!"

"I don't think you'd be condemned for being a 'passionate' woman. The law has changed a bit on that…"

She lifted her head to look at him making a face, "Not enough! and why the hell are you defending her?"

Pierce had a puzzled face, "I'm not defending her. But I think you're being unfair with her for saying that"

"Unfair?"

"Yes! She said no lie about you!"

"She almost portrayed me the wrong way!"

Pierce let out a sigh. Pointless continuing arguing with Katarina, she had made her mind and nothing would make her change her point of view on the matter.

"I have to go now..."

She held him tighter, not letting him to move further. He looked at her. His Ambar-eyes met her dark-honey pools who looked at him attentively. She was too proud to say 'I'm sorry', but her face expression demonstrated it. In fact, she didn't want to continue arguing with the one who had saved her and lied for her sake. The only one whom had ever proved his love for her and she was grateful for that.

"Do not take too long…" she spoke in a whisper

"You know that's not up to me"

"I know, but the king suggested our marriage. He should value the set date. I do not want to postpone it…"

"Me neither"

She passed her leg over his hip and sat on top of him. Her breasts at his view. She leaned down planting kisses on his neck, nibbling his skin as she adjusted her folds on his bulge, "Do you think the king can wait a bit more?" she whispered on his ear and then licked his skin

Pierce's body immediately shifted and his shaft filled her making her moan with the complete fill stretching her. Reconciliation intercourse.

" _I love you Kat…"_

" _I love you too… Pierce"_

" _I can't hardly wait to be your husband and walk proudly at your side…"_

* * *

 **O'Gregon Palace**

"Look who crawled out of their grave… A bad penny always turns up."

Those were the words Lord O'Gregon welcomed his daughter Katarina as she entered their home.

The brunette woman slowly let out an annoyed sigh, keeping her contained composure while her blood boiled in her veins. The chaos was instated since the Duke's death which caused a huge disappointment and frustration on the O'Gregon family head due to the loss of the possessions Katarina would acquire with the profitable marriage. Greed turned into resentment and the man made sure to throw it towards the only one – ones – to blame, Katarina and Pierce.

Saturated with the situation, Katarina had left their palace to live with Pierce which caused another scandal. How could a woman move in with a man who was not her husband yet?

She didn't care about all the talk. She loved Pierce and thanks to him she was still a free woman. Independently of her corrupted reputation, she was tired of being the perfect china doll. She felt she had the right to stand up for her own rights and wishes. Luckily, she had Pierce on her side. Not that it did matter.

Since her departure, she rarely paid visits to her family. Her mother – a coward submissive – preferred to take her husband's side. Not that it did matter either. Katarina had never been close to her mother due to their divergences and point of views. Actually, Katarina despised becoming a woman like her mother and general female society. Katarina was the beautiful black sheep of the O'Gregon's and as an older sister, she tried to teach her sister not to be like their mother. Somehow, her influence did work a little on the younger O'Gregon who was the only one she did care and made the effort to face the demons her parents had become to her.

"Did you see how he treated me? This is the last time I come to visit you here! I do not have any more patience to deal with that and if a next time exists, I will blow out!" the brunette O'Gregon huffed

Elizabeth looked down, "I'm sorry… it won't happen again" she spoke apologetic

"No, it will not!" Katarina agreed, "So… did you finish what I asked?"

"Yes. It's on the mannequin"

Katarina looked at the window direction of Elizabeth's chamber and smiled largely when she removed the cover on the mannequin and saw a sheer lace robe covering a tiny black lace lingerie, "The best craftswoman in town!" she spoke delighted with the work that was exalt as she had imagined to wear on her honey-moon

The blonde O'Gregon blushed in nervousness, hoping no one would enter her chamber and see the little fabric she made for her sister, "I took longer to finish because you know… I had to make it hidden to avoid questionings and all…"

"Yes my beloved sister, I understand! I waited patiently and you made a terrific work! Thank you!" Katarina spoke radiant stepping closer to her sister to give her a hug of gratitude

"I hope Pierce will like it…" the blonde spoke looking away

Katarina laughed, "I am sure he prefers me wearing nothing, but certainly that will tease him!"

Elizabeth smiled faintly. A forced faint smile, "So… two weeks huh?" she swallowed, "Two weeks for you to become Lady Northman…"

"No! I will not be Lady Northman"

Elizabeth widened her eyes in surprise, "Won't you? Meaning…?"

"I will continue being an O'Gregon wether people like it or not! I was born an O'Gregon and will die an O'Gregon! That is my identity!"

The blonde let out a sigh as her heart's pace diminished. For a second she thought Katarina planned in skipping the marriage with Pierce as well, "So you won't add his surname?"

"I may add, but I will not use it"

"People will still refer to you as the Northman's…"

"O'Gregon-Northman, I will make sure to correct them!"

"I see…"

"Now my sister, I have to go. I am still going on a trip to the Lake Province. I heard there are beautiful and different adornments there, not to mention I need to refresh my mind a little."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Do you have permission to go out with me for such distance?"

The blonde girl looked down in hesitation. She had her doubts on the permission.

"Next time I will take you with me, and I will take my order with so no one will question you!" Katarina spoke looking at the mannequin

Soon after, the O'Gregon sisters said their goodbyes and then Katarina entered the carriage that parted to their destination.

* * *

 **Lake Province**

The Stafford's rose with the sun early in the morning to start their regular routine of breakfast and home chores.

Christopher Reed was preparing his horse to leave. He would still have a long way back to the Peasant Land where he preferred to stay in safety and also to continue the construction.

"Chris"

The man turned around and smiled to Angelique who was carrying a package in her hands

"I made this as quick as I could! I know you have a long journey ahead, so I cooked this for you"

"Thank you Angely" he replied with a tender smile, "You always thinking of the details and taking care of me…" he took the package and kept it on the bag on the horse, "I so want to kiss you!" he spoke with a giggle

She laughed nodding in agreement, "It's been a while, huh!"

He nodded, "Do you think is there any problem on a quick peck?" he commented whispering making a face looking to the sides

"I don't know…"

"We are officially engaged now…"

"I don't know Chris…" she spoke apprehensive, "Just a quick one, right?"

He nodded, "Just for a goodbye…"

Without asking for further permission, Christopher lifted her chin up gently and kissed her lips. A bit longer than planned. He loved kissing her lips and they always caused him a mesmerize. He actually loved the all of her.

"Bitch!" From the upstairs window, the stepmother cursed as she watched the couple bitterly. She couldn't listen to them but still despised the scene. The stupid girl felt that man's lips and probably the all of him, "Virgin…Virgin is my…" she smirked envying the thoughts that formed in her mind. Especially after seeing him the previous night and how stunning that man's body was. She was much more of a woman than the stupid redhead!

"Watch the child for me. I need to go to the market" the woman spoke to the maiden hurriedly walking to the door as she knew Christopher was leaving the property. Taking the advantage that her husband was isolated in the library, she didn't bother to inform him her whereabouts. Angelique returned to her bedchamber to continue working on the special painting giving the final touches.

* * *

 **Lake Market**

"Does the lady think we will spend the night here?" the coachman asked as he opened the carriage's door for Katarina

"I do not know. Probably"

"I'm going to find a place for the lady to stay the night then"

"Yes, you do that and pick the finest and cleanest one!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Hum, this place is not that bad…" Katarina thought as she walked slowly looking at the tents and stores, "It's better than the Peasant's…" she made a disgusted face as she remembered the location

The shoppers tried their best to catch the noblewoman's attention. It was evident she was an outsider and wealthy, not to mention her distinct beauty and elegant posture. Some could even mistake her with a royal member due to her mannerisms.

Katarina loved the attention and laughed inwardly. She couldn't let they know they had gotten her full attention with all the courtesy and compliments. She felt lighter in that place, just like back in the days before the Duke thing. The time when not rarely she had more attention than the queen and her daughters. The tragedy had marked her path in the court, but still kept a place for her due to the high reputation of her husband-to-be.

However, here in a different place and atmosphere, she felt her old freedom. She felt the claim. She felt her superiority and that made her feel extraordinary. She felt special. She felt important. She wanted that to last forever.

She pretended to ignore the men's courtesies and flirts. Ah! Just like in the old days! And as a matter of fact, there were some cute men there, but of course none of them were at the level of Pierce. There should have a superior one to make her do the trade, but that seemed to be impossible. Although that didn't mean that the possibility they couldn't bring or give any quick fun to her was discarded. She still was a woman full and needy of love. If men had such liberty, why couldn't she have it? Just because she was a woman?

She continued walking the shops. Not missing any detail or possible target, besides the real reason for her presence there.

She stopped by a clothing and jewelry shop. Quickly, a female rushed to the door, "Look who is passing!" one of them spoke in excitement calling the other ones.

Katarina made a face marveling their behavior.

"He was here yesterday…so polite and…" a female commented

"So handsome!" the other female spoke delighted

Katarina could not hold her curiosity and turned around. Who could possibly be the man stealing all the attention from her?

Her mouth opened widely. Her heart nearly popping out from her chest. Her legs nearly sustaining her weight. Her eyes widened. She could not believe her eyes! The most precious jewelry, the monument in person riding his horse still keeping his imposing composure. So handsome. So god-like! Unmistakably that was him, the one and only!

"Christopher!" she yelled still unable to move

 **(*)**

Christopher heard a female voice at distance and helplessly looked to the sides looking for the female calling him.

That proved to be a big mistake. Or so he felt that way. From the horse, he watched the crowd opening space to the elegant woman running on heels to his direction. His mind froze at the sight of Katarina O'Gregon.

He could see on her face the tears, the large smiles, the confusion. The mix of feelings. The famous elegant noblewoman – and his ex-affair – sobbing, hugging his leg speaking repeatedly, "You are alive!"

Oblivious to the amount of people watching them as if they were watching a play, Christopher and Katarina exchanged gazes for the first time after 18 months and three weeks. Nearly 19 months of his decreed death.

From some distance, the stepmother watched the whole scene. Many thoughts crossed her mind. The elegant lady did seem to be at the level of that man, and not the stupid brat living in her land. She wondered who that woman could be, despite the evident fact that they seemed intimate as the noblewoman hugged his leg and he didn't seem to bother.

An evil face formed on her face as she had a thought.

(*)

"Who are you?" that was all he could think

"What do you mean who am I? It is me, Katarina!"

He made a face as if he didn't recognize her. A lie. A farce. He knew very well who she was. Impossible to forget her strong French accent and perfect speaking manner.

"Come on Christopher, do not play the dumb with me. I am Katarina O'Gregon!"

"I don't know any Katarina or you. Excuse me, I have to go!"

She held the horse, "You do not belong here. You belong to the Court!"

"You must be mistaken milady. Now please, let go of me"

"I will never let go of you! Ever again! I could never be mistaken of you Christopher Reed, not me! You will return with me to the Court. That is where you live and where everyone is waiting for you!"

"Lady, I'm not going anywhere with you! If you don't let go of me, I will end up hurting you"

"So hurt me Christopher! Prove me you are not the gentleman I met!" she made a pause with a saddened gaze, "And loved…"

He stared at her for a few seconds. The fatidic night. It had been so long ago, but still felt like just yesterday. A night that seemed unlikely to be forgotten, especially from her side.

He couldn't take the risk to let his play fall, but he also couldn't allow himself to hurt her physically, "I'm not your Christopher, but I'm educated enough to not hurt anyone deliberately!" he spoke jumping from the horse and walking away

Katarina followed him and grabbed his arm, "Chris…"

"Don't touch me!" he shouted taking his arm abruptly from her hands, "Go back to your court and leave me alone! I won't respond for my actions if you continue chasing me!" he spoke fiercely

Looking around, everyone watched them in silence. Some even pretended to not be paying attention. Katarina hated being the scolded publicly. She couldn't stand such bad attention in so low way, after all, she was superior and could not allow herself to be the joke of the crowd. Ashamed and feeling humiliated she consented with his freedom.

Christopher walked back to get his horse, rode it and left without looking back. Inertly, he was in despair. He knew his free time was ending. More than never he should rush things with Angelique.

" _Chris, what are you doing here? Why are you like this?"_

" _Angely we have to go!"_

" _Why?"_

" _I just had an encounter with Katarina… We don't have much time. I know she will tell the king who will send rescue troops to find me… please, let's go!"_

 **(*)**

The stepmother watched the commotion delighted. Christopher wasn't the man he said he was and more importantly, there was another woman in his life. Taking advantage of the moment, the woman stepped closer to the paralyzed noblewoman, introduced herself and cynically showed compassion for her and did everything she could to console the crying lady in a private area of the plaza.

"Is he your husband?" the Stafford asked in curiosity

Katarina shook her head, "Engaged, but then we split because of a few things… But we were going to work on things… so he was declared dead… Now I found him and he does not remember me!" she spoke in between sobs

"I'm sorry to seem nosy but let me ask… did you split because of another woman or something?"

"No… why? Is there another woman in his life?"

The older woman made a face with a consenting silence

"Who is she?" Katarina asked broken-hearted

"My stepdaughter"

"What? And you are here 'consoling' me? What kind of witch are you?!" Katarina spoke revolted

"I'm not a witch. I am a woman, who seeks for the best interests, especially my stepdaughter's. I think they are together for about a year, but only yesterday, she introduced him to the family. I even feared she might be pregnant since they have hurry to get married…"

"No! She cannot be pregnant nor marry him. He is mine!" the noblewoman spoke outraged

"That's why I'm here talking to you. I knew from the beginning he wasn't a man for my stepdaughter and I was the only opposite to their union, but now with you… we can stop them. My husband is a just man and I'm sure he won't allow his daughter to marry your man…"

Without any second thoughts, Katarina agreed with the woman's plan and after finding the coachman, they headed to the Stafford's manor.

"What? What a story is that?!" Mr. Stafford shouted astonished after listening to his wife's statement

"It's the truth my beloved husband. I admit I followed him, but it was for a good cause. I can't explain the feeling I had… but it proved to be the right action to make. Now we know who Christopher really is and that he belongs to the present noble lady"

"Call Angelique!" the man asked the maiden

"She's not home milord"

"Where did she go?" the man asked infuriated

"She left with Christopher a while ago. He returned to pick her up"

"What?" the Staffords' and Katarina yelled simultaneously

The man beat the table furiously. Katarina's legs failed to sustain her and she sat on the settee

"Of course he would pick her up and run away with her… He is the man of strategies. He anticipated this would happen…" Katarina spoke in a seemly admiration, "Bastard!" she added bitterly

" _Chris, can we make a break here? I don't feel well…"_

* * *

Pierce was in his carriage on the way back to Bohma, admiring a fancy diamond ring. Not any diamond ring, but the ring that was in his family for generations. A gift from an old important queen to a female ancestor of his. The tradition was passed through generations as wedding gifts and now it would be him to pass on that tradition. His mother gave it to him as she didn't bore any female heir and he was the eldest of three men. Not even with his current status in the king's court, he could never afford such adornment. Katarina had expensive and high tastes. Nothing was simple with her and that ring suited her. She had the soul of a queen.

That ring was kept in secret as part of the Northman's fortune and as his ultimate love proof, he decided to give it to the woman he most loved and his soon wife to be. Nervousness and anxiety took over him with the thought. He hoped Katarina would like it.

.

.

 _"The man who most loved Katarina for who she was…until the day she betrayed him too…" the old man spoke  
_

* * *

 _ **Rantallion - A weirdly specific Victorian word meaning "one whose scrotum is longer than his penis."**_

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review! :D**

 **Well, well, well... Once upon a time, the drama had started  
and with this, all the boom!**

 **xD I can't help the song that immediately plays in my head every time I think of "once upon a time". If you have curiosity of the rythm of my failed attempt to write/sing my own lyric...**

 ** _"Once upon a time, we had a lot to fight for  
We had a dream, we had a plan  
Sparks in the air, we spread a lot of envy  
Didn't have to care, once upon a time_**

 _ **Once upon a time, we used to burn candles**_  
 _ **We had a place to call a home**_  
 _ **The dream that we lived was better than divine**_  
 _ **Every day was like a gift, once upon a time"**_

 **It's called Sail Away - The Rasmus**

 **And now that I searched the lyrics, I can see it fits the chapter O.O that wasn't on purpose lol**

 **Here we are half the way to the end of the 17th Century... Now it's all about the drama. Hold your hearts and like my friend Herp said, better read next chapter in a bathtub to fill it up with the tears :(  
I have already cried a full river and we are on the way to fill an ocean :(  
Ok maybe not...I'm the sentimental one here xD**

 **Once upon a time... Stay Tuned!**


	14. The Man Back From the Dead

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story plot belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21** **st** **century**

The night wore off, and in the early morning, the alarm clock rang on the bedside table. He reached his arm to turn it off. He took a long breath and yawned. Waking up by 4:30AM was his usual routine, although not so usual waking up with a woman on the other side of the bed, sleeping soundly.

He sat up on the bed, removing the sheets covering his naked body. Bare foot he walked to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. He finished the shower and returned to the bedroom. The brunette woman was still sleeping on his king size bed.

He made deliberate sounds as he dressed and put on his jungle boots, hoping that she would respond, forgetting the disturbed peace in the night. No one made the first move and the impasse continued until he checked the clock again and stepped closer to the bed.

"Hey, wake up" he touched the woman's shoulder gently shaking her

She moaned

"Get up sleepy beauty"

Still blurry-eyed she checked the time on the alarm clock. Too early. The sun wasn't even up yet.

"I have to go to work"

She let out a sigh of frustration, but obeyed to his request as he finished dressing himself.

"I guess I won't have time to take a quick shower, will I?"

He checked the clock, "You have the time until I get ready to leave. I prefer leaving earlier so I can avoid the rush hour traffic"

"I see… But… will we see each other again? I really enjoyed our night…" she spoke seductively remembering their intense moments and all the orgasms he provided her and the three times he proved he had really liked their moment.

He made a face seemingly hesitant. Surely he had enjoyed their night. She was a beautiful company. Despite all the pleasure she had given to him, he had a code. He had informed her his code, "No attachments" he spoke straight to the point with a reminding tone

She exhaled, "I know you said that, but seeing each other again is not an attachment nor commitment."

"But leads to it…"

She desisted from appeasing him. Wordless, she took her clothes and dressed herself. No shower. She only used the bathroom to wash her face. She didn't want to waste more of his little time for personal affairs. She just knew it. She worked with him long enough to know about the rumors.

He was Christopher Redfield. The workaholic captain and one of the original founding members of the BSAA. Few women could have his body and little time, but none had his heart. He was unreachable and made sure to keep things that way.

He gave the woman the taxi money and drove down the road towards the BSAA Headquarters. He liked leaving earlier when it was still dark to avoid the rush hour and the bad traffic of New York city. He turned on the radio fiddling the stations. None got his attention. That time of the day, most stations were all about morning news, economy, politics. The same subject repeatedly only spoken with different words. That morning he wasn't in the mood. His thoughts were distant. He arrived at his work's building little after the sunrise and parked his car in the parking lot and headed to the elevators' lobby. The doors opened and he stepped out of the elevator and looked in both directions. The lobby was empty. So far, so good. That was another point for getting to work earlier than everyone does. The outer perimeter of the floor consisted of offices housing seniors and tech department. A maze of cubicles filled the balance forming practical, though cramped, office space for the support staff. A single main hallways ran the circumference of the floor between the offices and the cubicle walls with frequent smaller hallways branching into the cubicles. As Chris left the confined of the lobby and entered the hallways, he began running into coworkers of the night shift. There were a few nods and greetings in his direction, but nobody gave him more than a passing look as he made his way to his office around a corner.  
The office was large and had large windows with beautiful view to the training field but lacking in a personal touch.

There were several diplomas on the wall next to the desk, a portrait of him with his only family member, Claire. In addition there was another portrait of him with his closest friends still back in the days of Raccoon City on a happy hour he, Jill, Barry, Rebecca and some other S.T.A.R.S members, except Wesker, had before the horrendous incident in the Mansion in the Arklay Mountains that changed their lives forever. There were some trophies on the shelves on the wall. Otherwise, the walls were bare.

He turned on the lights and computer, sitting on his chair turning to the window where he looked through the window and watched the new recruits training in the training field. That was his usual routine when not in missions. Driving home to work and from work to home with occasional nightstands.

He continued watching the recruits still distant in his thoughts. He had had the same dream again. So vivid this time. As if he was really there, he could still feel all the sensations he lived in the dream. He could still remember the voices, the noises. He could still remember all the feelings he felt in the different situations, his own thoughts during each moment. All the flashes of scenes in erratic order of events that for him now, they didn't make much of sense. The dream doesn't make any sense, although made him wake up feeling nostalgic and longing for something he didn't know.

Should he pay attention to that dream that insisted so much in repeating? Was there a message for him? Or was it just something of his imagination?

* * *

 **17th Century**

 **Stafford's Manor**

Katarina and the Stafford's were reunited in the library

"I know they could go to the lake manor" the stepmother spoke

"Lake Manor?" Katarina asked in curiosity

"Yes. It's a property Angelique inherited from her mother when she passed away. She has the habit to spend seasons there" the father explained

"Alone?" Katarina spoke intrigued

The stepmother smirked, "Probably with Christopher!"

Katarina bit her lips with the disgusting thoughts. This time she couldn't disguise her discomfort with Amelia's comment, "So that is your plan? Wait them get to the lake manor that in my opinion sounds too obvious? Christopher cannot be that obvious!"

"They will get there by the end of the daylight" the man said

"Is that the closest location they can reach? Is there any other place they can hide?"

"Yes, the lake manor is the closest place they can reach, besides an abbey along the road. The only place they can go that is closer to have a rest is in the Peasant's Village. They could get there by the night, but no one travels in the middle of the night" the stepmother spoke

"They could hide in town as well to make us wonder they have gone too far away when they're not." The man commented

"That is a dangerous option. I do not see Christopher taking that" Katarina spoke frowning

"Do you have a better idea?" Angelique's father asked

"Call the Royal Rescue Troop. I am a close friend with the king's family and their reinforcements could corner them. Not to mention they can force him to return to the court"

"That would give them time to run away further…" the stepmother said

"Actually that would be just a matter of time until they are 'rescued'." Katarina replied

"So what's your plan? That the two of us will only stay waiting?" the male Stafford gasped

"Yes, pretty much! You give me a map of all the nearby places they can go and hide while I will go back to the court and do the talk with my close friend…"

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

 **A couple of days later**

"How are you feeling?" he asked in concern as he sat on the bed corner

"I don't like this Chris…being a fugitive…"

"It's just until we validate our union. The new law allow us to have a private ceremony without the king's consent or witnesses. I have a friend that has legal power to validate our vows and then there's the consummation detail… but I believe we have consummated it long ago…"

"Can't they force us to annul it?"

"No! They could try if have we didn't have a legal registration from a justice of the peace after presentation of the certificate from the parish, which won't be the case. That's why we will head early to the Peasant's Village and by this time tomorrow, you will be already Angelique Reed"

She smiled, "I prefer Angely Reed, but Angelique is fine too. I just hope to feel better tomorrow"

"You will! You just got nervous with the whole thing happening so fast"

"Yes and I'm still worried about it all… don't even know what to think…"

He lied next to her and pulled her to him from behind

"So what's your plan after the wedding?"

"You'll come to court with me as my legit wife"

"Won't that be a problem?"

"A problem? Of course not! They might talk and talk…but no damage will come from that. Besides, those people love gossips and scandals!"

She remained in silence with an insecure expression

"But you won't live in there. You will stay in my personal land in Arthena"

"Do you really have that land?"

"Yes I do!"

"I thought you made it out…"

"No! I could never be so convincing with such of a lie!"

She forced a faint smile as dizziness hit her again. The young couple remained in silence while Christopher watched out for his companion. Now it was his time to take of her with love and dedication.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

"I want to speak with the Prince"

"He's taking a rest"

"I do not care about his rest. What I have to say is more important!"

"I have orders to not let anyone in…"

Katarina rolled her eyes and pushed the soldiers running towards the royal chambers as the men ran after her screaming for her to stop.

"Charles!" she screamed pushing the doors abruptly

"What the hell is that!" the young prince who looked in his early tweenties shouted

"Charles…"

"Katarina!" he yelled widening his eyes

"I beg your pardon your highness, but the lady forced her way, breaking your orders…" one guardian spoke apologetic

"This cannot wait!" she yelled catching her breath

Knowing her for all her life, he ordered the guards to give them privacy, "What happened?" he asked as he sat on the armchair

"I encountered Christopher!"

"What?" he frowned in disbelief

"He is not dead! I saw him with eyes and touched him with my own hands!"

"This can't be true…"

"It is true!"

"If that's true, why didn't he return to the court?"

"I think he has got a brain problem"

"What do you mean?"

She looked down with a saddened gaze, "He did not remember me…" she looked up, "But I know it is him! I could never mistake that!" she spoke with conviction

"Memory problem?"

"Apparently…"

The man sighed thoughtful, "And where did you encounter him?"

"In a plaza in the Lake Province, but I do not believe you will find him there"

"Why not?"

"Because people had not seen him before and some saw him leaving the province"

"How can I be sure the man in question was really him?"

"Why would I lie about that? You know how Christopher is important to me… and to kingdom!"

"This is a matter to my father…"

"You are in his place! You can do whatever you want now!"

.

.

" _What don't you request crying and I grant smiling?"_

* * *

 **Cottage, Morning**

Christopher was sitting on the bed corner as he watched Angelique sleeping. A few days had passed since they arrived at the Peasants' Village and stayed in their unfinished cottage. They knew they couldn't stay there for a long period, but Angelique's increasing sickness delayed their trip plans and his concern reaching its' peek. Not a good way to start as newlyweds. They still hadn't enjoyed their new life as husband and wife.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked as she woke up

Her answer wasn't needed as she rushed to vomit in a bowl

"I should take you to a doctor, I'm very concerned about your health, Angely…"

"No, it's not needed. I'm getting better"

"No you're not and I can see that! You're still and hadn't eaten properly"

"It's because I want to eat different things that we don't have here…"

"So will you starve because of that?"

"Of course not! I do eat things…"

"Not enough. You're getting thinner and paler!"

"I just want to sleep Chris… When we wake up, I'm sure I'll be feeling better and we can head to our trip, alright? We have wasted a precious time here…"

"You are my responsibility now, Angely. I have never seen you so sick"

"It's because I never got sick before and thank you for taking care of me, but please don't be so concerned. I'm good. I just need to rest a bit more" she forced a weak smile and caressed his face, but the next minute she ran to vomit once again.

That was enough for him. He had the obligation to watch for his wife's sake. Rising against her wish, he left the cottage to look for a doctor for her.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

The royal carriages crossed the main gate. The King had returned to the castle alongside his family.  
Pierce left his carriage and noticed there were several guardians missing. Soon after, Charles, the Prince of Bohma welcomed his family and informed them the news.

Pierce could not believe his ears, "What did you say?" he asked in shock

"Christopher Reed is still alive"

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Katarina encountered him"

A bombshell had just being thrown on young Pierce Northman. He didn't even seem to react properly as his voice failed him, "What?" he whispered feeling some spasms on his skin and an increasing pain coring through his muscles. The thought of Katarina and Christopher.

"I ordered rescue troops to search the nearby villages of Lake and Peasant's Provinces. We are waiting for the results and only time will tell if Katarina was right or not"

Soon after the prince's statement, Pierce spotted Katarina standing at the main doors of the castle, staring them.

"Oh your highness… welcomed back… I thought it was Christopher…"she spoke not being able to disguise properly her frustration seeing them

"What story is that Katarina?" the king asked

"The truth your highness. Christopher is alive!"

"You know if you fooled my guardians you shall be punished"

"Yes, I know your highness, but I will not be punished because I do not lie about that! I know soon your men will bring Christopher back to the court"

"You'd better young lady… you'd better! As you may know, I have reached my patience's limit with all your adventures!"

Katarina's blood boiled with the old man's tone. Unconsciously her inner side could not tolerate such thing and as a result, she didn't revere the royal mem as they passed by her, much the contrary. She remained with an imposing posture as if defying them.

There were no boundaries for Katarina O'Gregon's pride. So much that she didn't even bother to pay much of attention to her fiancé, crashing even more Pierce Northman's heart.

Sadly, Pierce touched his pocket and felt the small box in his pocket. A strong pain hit him as darkness consumed his mood with Katarina's constant rejections.

"Christopher Reed…" he mumbled bitterly riding his horse to join the rescue troopers

* * *

 **Peasants' Village**

Christopher alongside a doctor rushed through the inhabitants of the village. For his surprise, that day the streets seemed crowded, more than the usual. People seemed to be expecting something important. However, that didn't matter to him, all he cared was for Angelique.

Forcing his way through the people, Christopher led the way as the doctor followed him.

They turned the corner of an alley to catch a shortcut, but for their misfortune, the other street seemed even more crowed. They forced their way the same way.

"Christopher Reed!"

A male voice paralyzed the former royal knight as the horse continued walking and he ignored the calling.

"Someone is calling you sir" the doctor spoke innocently

Christopher closed his eyes in frustration. The doctor had just ruined his disguise. Cornered.

"Christopher Reed… They say you have lost your memories but…humm, I bet to disagree and I'm afraid you have just turned into a renegade!" Pierce Northman spoke imposingly on his black horse closing the way for Christopher get away as both men stared each other

"Who the hell are you?" Christopher replied with a serious demeanor

"Don't you really remember me?" Pierce replied with incredulity

"No, I don't"

"But you do know your name…"

Chris frowned in silence and turned to the doctor, "I can't go on with you. Take the road at the south and go straight. You'll see an unfinished cottage. Please, she needs help and take good care of her!" he instructed the man and gave him the keys, "Tell her where she can find me… at the court" he added

The guardians continued blocking the way, making impossible for the doctor to leave as well.

"Please… Let him go. He has nothing to do with any of that"

Pierce bit his lips staring his old friend, studying him and the doctor. Noticing the innocence in the doctor's gaze and the sincerity in the renegade's tone, he made a gesture opening space for the latter man to pass, quickly closing the passage and staring once again Christopher Reed.

"I came to bring you back to court"

"I have nothing to do at the court!"

"Much the contrary, my old friend, much the contrary! You owe explanations!"

"I don't owe any explanations as I don't know any of you!"

"It doesn't matter if you know us or not. We do know you and you surely can explain how you have lived for the past year"

Christopher swallowed hard. Despite all the tension, all his mind could think was about Angelique and her safety.

"I'm sure you were great back in the days, but still you cannot face an entire army against you…. So just surrender and come back to the court!" Pierce spoke and ordered the men to arrest Christopher who clearly couldn't fight all those men and most probably there would have more else where

(*)

 **Cottage, Afternoon**

Angelique was restless. Christopher had left without informing her his whereabouts. She felt better from the sickness, but her apprehension seemed to be about to get her sick again. She checked the window constantly, in hope to see Christopher, but nothing happened. Only her heart got more squeezed.

She heard a noise on and rushed to the door

"Who are you?" she asked in scare seeing a strange man entering

"I'm a doctor. Your husband sent me. I came to check on you"

"What? Where is he?" she asked in preoccupation

"He was taken by royal guards. He said you can find him at the court"

Angelique immediately rushed to the door, but the man grabbed her arm, "I need to check on you first"

"I'm fine already! I need to meet my husband!"

The man shook his head, "You can't go! You're a woman, sick… you cannot wander around alone!"

"Let go of me! I'm not sick, I'm perfectly fine!" she shouted trying to released herself from him

However, as soon as she reached the door, she paralyzed completely. Her widened in shock.

"Already with another man?" Amelia Stafford, her stepmother spoke bitterly

"Whore!" her father shouted and slapped Angelique on the face. Strong enough to throw her on the floor. Although, that wasn't enough, infuriated, he knelt down next to her and grabbed her by the hair making her scream, "You no longer are my daughter! From now on you are banned from my family and shall be locked in the convent, forever!" he yelled dragging her without even care if he was hurting her.

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review! :D**

 **That wasn't an easy end of chapter for me to write T_T so I tried to be as light as I could, to spare my own mind T_T The darkness has reached the story :(**

 **Anyways... The show must go on... and so does the story huh! xD**

 **I have not much to say, besides thanking everyone who reads my work :D**

 **And as the usual...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	15. Pride

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story plot belong to me.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21st Century, 2009**

A redhead woman pushed herself away from her desk and leaned back in her office chair. She had been searching for any information on the mysterious Lake House for two hours already and had exactly nothing. Several pictures showed in the search, but none resembled the one she had seen in her persistent dreams. In addition, it didn't help not knowing any location or a specific name. Lake House was a too random subject to search online.

She blew out a breath in frustration. Those dreams had drained her creativity and more and more dragged her new work to paint the so-called Lake House. She hated the fact that every time she woke up, her brain failed keeping any name spoken in the dreams or even forgetting more details that could add to her investigation.

She reached for her mouse and brought up all the pictures she thought that had some resemblance with the one in her mind. On the big monitor, the landscapes looked even more depressing than it did in her memories when looking at the pictures. She clicked through them one at a time, studying every detail captured, silently willing her mind to zero in on something and unlock another door to the past.

Her frustration grew as she moved through photo after photo without even a flicker. She tapped on her desk and stared out the front window. Maybe the photos wouldn't work. Maybe she needed to be inside those places for her mind to really process what she was seeing. Maybe she had to feel it in order to remember it.

However, visiting all those location presented a problem as well. Several trips worldwide. As a free-lance painter and photographer that wouldn't be much of a problem. She had done it several times during her single days on her early twenties. Now at the age of 25 she had a _growing_ limitation, so she would need to pick a specific continent and move there. Luckily, she had a mother and a boyfriend who supported her in everything.

Actually, travelling around the world was something she got from her mother as they used to travel a lot since she was a little girl.

She wished she could dream and remember at least the location or maybe the name of anyone seen in the dreams…

* * *

 **17th Century**

 **Convent of Bohma**

"That's the new girl"

"What's her name?"

"Her family didn't want to inform… she was banned"

"Oh, a sinner" the older woman whispered as she walked slowly towards the crying young redhead sitting alone on a bench, with only the clothes she was wearing, a simple beige dress, "What's your name young lady?"

Angelique wiped her tears still looking down, "Reed… Angely Reed" she spoke in between sobs

"Welcome Angely Reed to the house of God. From now on you will clean your life from your sins, marry Him and live forever in God" the woman spoke smiling

Angelique accompanied the woman. For now, the safest place for her to stay. The long sleeves and skirt covered the bruises all of her pale skin. Her body sore and sick. But her soul aching. Despite all of her disgrace, all she could think was of Christopher, praying for the day they would meet again.

During her recovery days in the convent, she became a person of few words. A girl with no story, only a girl who lived the love. That was her sin.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

After being taken back to the court, Christopher Reed was examined by several doctors that verified his physical health. All the results came clear. Christopher still pretended to have lost part of his memory so he could justify why he didn't return after escaping as he knew they could punish him with his own death for treason. He still pretended not remembering of Katarina and that way he managed to keep her at some distance, which bothered the young brunette woman.

" _He might have hit the head. I still cannot guarantee if his memory will return as one year has passed and he still has it partially" said one doctor to the king who showed concern for his old guardian_

(*)

One day, Christopher and Pierce were riding their horses in the forest around the castle as part of the readaptation routine of Christopher. He still hadn't being resumed to his old position.

"So you're an Admiral now, huh?" Christopher commented

"Yeah…"

"You deserve it. You are a smart and responsible man" Christopher replied taking notice of him delivering his own lie, "From what I have noticed…" he disguised

"And reserved too"

Christopher studied him

"You don't need to lie to me. I know you have no memory problem but I'm keeping your secret with me and you know I won't tell that to anyone otherwise I'd have done it already"

"You know me too well, huh"

"Since we were children"

Christopher smiled faintly in agreement.

"I don't know what made you stay away from the court for so long, but there's something I need to tell you before you hear the wrong rumors, so is better you learning the truth from me…"

Christopher looked at him attentively, "Alright… tell me"

Pierce inhaled, letting out a quick sigh, "Katarina and I are engaged."

"What? Really?"

Pierce nodded in confirmation

"Congratulations! I'm sure you can make her happy"

"I don't think so…"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if the marriage will happen anymore…"

"Why?"

Pierce hesitated for a while before letting out a disappointed sigh, "Because of you"

"Me?" Christopher spoke in surprise, although he shouldn't be that surprised as they were talking about the one and only Katarina O'Gregon, the same woman they shared

"She's distant, nearly cold towards me… she asked for a time... and we were supposed to be married this far"

Christopher didn't know what to say, remaining in silence.

"I know it's not your fault, but Kat still loves you…"

"But I don't love her" Christopher didn't let Pierce continue his line who looked at him in silence, "What happened between me and Katarina was long ago and a mistake. We already talked about this."

"Yeah, but it's not long enough for her to have forgotten you. Not even your death diminished her feelings for you! She seems to have hope…"

"I love someone else! Katarina should let go of this fantasy she created and she can do it otherwise she wouldn't have had given you a chance…"

Pierce smirked, "Katarina has two hearts… one between her legs and the other that belongs to you…"

"So don't blame me for your bad relationship…"

"I'm not blaming you! I'm the fool for believing Katarina O'Gregon could ever love me!"

The horses showed signs of restlessness and disobeyed their orders. The men stayed in alert looking around searching the imminent threat.

Out of sudden, a mysterious woman left from behind a tree, staring at them.

"Who are you?" Christopher asked with a serious demeanor

"Our paths crossed…" She replied vaguely

"You are a dowser. They say you can see the future" Pierce spoke remembering the rumors about the mysterious woman

"It's what they say…"

"It's what they believe… but tell me, how is it possible for someone seeing the future?" Christopher asked with incredulity

"As more important than the future, is the present. People should be more concerned in seeing the present than the future and in the right time, you will also need to see the present. You shall need to see the truth in each person around you and your biggest disbelief will be on yourself" she spoke staring at Christopher

"What do you mean?"

"A woman…a woman in your life."

"What about her?"

"She will swear love to you, but will bring the hate. She will talk about peace, but will bring the discord. She will celebrate the life, but will bring the death."

"Who is that woman?"

"Only you will be capable to answer"

Pierce watched them in silence, thoughtful. He wanted to ask things, but wasn't sure if he could.

"And you… there will be a time you'll need to abdicate of your feelings and use your wisdom to decide someone's fate whether it leads to death. It will be in your hands to make justice…"

"What about my marriage? Any chances that it will be celebrated?"

"You will get married! Only not with the one you think… But be wise! Love has several shades and choices have several paths." She spoke staring at Pierce

The men watched in silence and thoughtful. Although Christopher showed more signs of incredulity

"Both of you will have to face the consequences as the destiny is hardening you because… because in a distant future the two of you will cross paths again for a mission and fight what no one would ever believe to happen… and you…" she turned to Christopher once again, "You'll have the longest mission and shall face the loneliness and sacrifices of your path!" she said as a mysterious fog covered them and when it dissipated, the woman was gone.

Pierce and Christopher shrugged exchanging gazes.

"Crazy woman!" Christopher spoke rolling his eyes

* * *

 **Pierce Northman's Chamber, Castle of Bohma**

The words of the dowser intrigued. Echoed in his mind. After leaving the forest, Pierce had become a quiet and thoughtful person, which was unusual to his usual being. Those words had had more impact than he expected. The opposite of Christopher who had demonstrated quite of incredulity before the woman.

Pierce felt the woman seemed to be reading his soul and said he wasn't going to marry Katarina, that was all he could think of one to marry. That caused him doubts, could he love someone else who wasn't Katarina? And it wasn't out of trials, he did try loving other women. All ended up being failed attempts.

Despite all those words, one thing was clear for him, Katarina's distance. They barely kissed, they didn't make love for a while. They didn't even spend many moments alone. No marriage talk. Her favorite subject was Christopher Reed. As it used to be back in the days before all the loving thing.

Tired of so much waiting, he decided to solve their relationship. He wanted to try again and make her see it. To make her listen to him. He loved her. He still had hope. Hope that one day her love words had been true.

"I told you I needed a time for my own! Why do you insist so much?"

"It's taking longer than I thought. I need to know what you feel for me!"

"Right now I feel suffocated with all your questionings!"

"It's because I care!"

"You care too much!" she yelled

Pierce frowned, "I care too much?"

"Yes you do!"

"It's because I love you… and need you." He made a pause, "I don't feel you with me anymore… you reject me often… where is your love?"

She bit her lips inhaling, "I need a time… I did not know you were like a glue when in a relationship…I am still adapting… But my love is still here"

"Where?"

"Pierce…"

He stepped closer to her, "What about our plans? Did you forget them?"

She stepped away, "Plans exist to be changed. Especially if they can be changed to better." Katarina spoke with a cold demeanor

He gasped, "To better? You think Christopher is better than me?"

Katarina smirked, "Not exactly but now that you asked that…" She shrugged leaving her sentence in hang, "the point is, why forcing a marriage where I am sure my feelings for him are stronger than my wish to marry you? It will be better for both of us to stop it before we hurt each other even more!"

Feeling hurt, he replied, "You only used me Katarina! You never really thought you could be happy with me!"

"You are absolutely wrong about that! I thought I could be happy with you! I am being real with you all this long, but I cannot accept you blaming me for your broken dreams!"

"You said you loved me!" he shouted

"But I love him more!" she yelled, "You always knew that! But you suffocate me with your… pressure!"

"Pressure?"

"Yes!"

"I gave up a good marriage for You!"

"A contract that you were a guinea pig"

"I have risked my integrity for You!"

"I did not ask you to do that"

"I lied for YOU!" he shouted

"For that I am very thankful for my entire life! But still it is not a reason to enjoy your pressure…"

"And you feel pressured? I am the one abdicating from everything for this intoxicating feeling and you say you feel pressured?"

"You are emotionally needy; I cannot fill those holes…"

"I am a fool for loving you more than everything, but this is over! I still have some dignity left… But one day you will see what you have lost for this sick love you have Christopher, a man who never loved you! Christopher the man who loves another woman! So good luck on forcing him to stay with you because maybe you can have his body but you will never have his heart!" Pierce yelled bitterly, angrily, heartbroken before letting her witness his tears of defeat. He wouldn't allow such thing. He still had some pride left.

Katarina felt to her knees as she watched the doors shouting. Alone she finally allowed her tears to come out. More tears than she expected or would like to accept, "Pierce…" she whispered smelling his scarf that she always took with her – in secret – the last and only piece of him she had for her. several seconds she had afterthoughts of running after him. but she had her pride as well…

That night, Katarina O'Gregon allowed her soul to sorrow and succumb to salty rivers that cored down her delicate face skin on the pillows, on the sheets where all of Pierce's scent still lingered until she was completely drained.

* * *

 **A Few Weeks Later**

Pierce had the day off. Since the breakup with Katarina, he still was taking a time to recompose himself. Telling the king the cancelation of the wedding was embarrassing, but not as bad as he expected since he was waiting for some punishment since the king himself had suggested it. Although he felt ashamed and the court's clown as he found out some people had made a bet. From time to time the dowser's words echoed in his head.

He was sitting on the grass, alone, only God knows for how many hours he was there staring at the ring he planned to give to Katarina – such a sad memory and plan now. His heart still bled in sadness. It still hurt so much that he couldn't stay in his chamber in the castle as he knew he'd have to encounter her often. He still didn't return to his own home as that place still had a vivid presence of hers since they started living together, so he rented a small cottage in the boundaries' of the castle.

"Good morning…"

The man heard a distant but so close female voice at his side breaking his chain of self-pity. He turned his face to the side looking up to see Elizabeth O'Gregon, the younger sister of his former lover, "Good morning…" he replied with a saddened tone

"Do you want me to leave you alone? I was just passing by when I noticed you…" she spoke with a kind tone

"No, it's alright. It's good to forget my own misery for a while…"

"With the sister of your ex?"

He giggled, "You don't remind me in anything your sister! For me you both are like water and oil with the share of the same last name"

She smiled slightly. That was a weird compliment. Actually, it was weird to be so close and alone with the ex-lover of her sister. She hoped no one would see them and have the wrong idea. It was already enough live with Katarina's scandals.

Long silence.

"I should leave you alone. I have no idea of how to console someone…especially in a matter I never experienced"

"No. stay… I want you to stay… please"

"Are you sure?"

He nodded in confirmation, "There is life after Katarina… I need to learn that, but for that, I need to stop mourning my own disgrace and disappointment."

"I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say anything. You don't have to pity me, but somehow I feel better with you here…if you didn't care you wouldn't had come to me"

"I do care Pierce… I do care about people. It hurts me to see my sister damaging so many people and good men like you…"

"They say good people suffer more… you are a good girl"

"Thank you…" she replied shyly

"My flattery makes you uncomfortable? Because compliments in your family are usually for someone else. The elder sister..."

She looked down. Avoiding eye contact.

"That's something I understand. What it is to be the second in hand. Forever in the shadows... I'm making you uncomfortable again?"

She looked down nodding

"Sorry about that…" he spoke apologetic, "I just couldn't help my sincerity as I always noticed you alone… in silence, as a bystander when all the drama and play was happening around…looking down like now" he spoke with a gentle tone and slowly lifted her chin up so he could see her eyes

Elizabeth had no response. Her mind was shifting, her heart was racing. She didn't know what to do, what to say. Should stay or run away. That never happened before. No man had touched her before. No man had noticed her or even looked at her. She didn't have her sister's beauty, radiance and communication. She didn't have her talents and guts. Her hair was blonde, but her sister's had a shine, a glow she could never had. She even wore Katarina's disposable dresses and gowns, of course, the most contended ones. She was used in taking the rests.

Such intimate moment had never been into her books. She watched those Ambar-eyes catching her gaze, smiling subtly. Noticing her. His' gentle-warm fingertips.

"You have green eyes"

"I took from my mother's…" she spoke with failing voice and looked away

"Beautiful green eyes…"

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome…"

"I really should get going" she said standing up

"You can if you want, but thank you for your company"

"I don't want to take the risk of someone seeing us and have the wrong idea…"

"What wrong idea?"

"You know how people are! They see one thing and exaggerate as they spread the rumors"

"We are just talking"

"You and I are a woman and a man…alone, in a place like this that usually young in love couples come to spend some private time"

"Even if they knew the truth, people just believe what they want to believe. We aren't doing anything wrong and there is even a distance between… a physical distance"

"We still are alone…a man and a woman…"

He laughed, showing his perfect teeth. Perfect smile, "Thank you for spending some time with me despite all the fear, Eliza, may I call you like this?"

She nodded in agreement, "You're welcome… I just hate seeing you broken like this… you don't deserve it"

He smiled again, "You see?"

"What?"

"My face. When I was alone, miserable in my own darkness you came as a light that shone and lighted my day, my face… I'm smiling again"

She played with her hair not knowing what to say

"There is life after Katarina and you just proved me that!" he said standing up and then the little box fell on the ground near Elizabeth

Instinctively the blonde-girl knelt down to pick it up. A habit she had acquired as she was used to serving her sister or her family, "What is it?" she asked in curiosity

"You can open it, I don't think it has value anymore…"

"It's so beautiful!" she spoke widening her eyes, "Of course this have value! It's a true gem, right?"

"Yes, it is… but I meant another type of value…"

She looked at him in confusion as she handed him the object

"This ring is in my family for generations. A gift from a queen. It has been used as wedding gift and as I cannot wear it… I was planning to give it to Kat…"

"Oh…"

"No marriage, no ring…probably it came cursed to me…"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm a man, the first male generation keeping it… I don't have anyone else to give it anymore and I don't think I will give it to anyone honestly…since I have been rejected… so it lost its value, in my opinion…"

"Give it to me" she spoke in impulse, immediately blushing in nervousness

"What?"

She laughed in distress, "I'm just kidding…" she disguised

He made a face, "Do you want it?"

She swallowed, not knowing how to read his signs, "I'd surely want it if that was special for me from my man… but since you're not my man… I still see it has value and I don't believe it's cursed… you just didn't find the right woman…"

"Is there a right woman for me?"

She shrugged swallowing again. The words were stuck in her throat. She wasn't even sure if that was the right time to say that. An hour ago, he was mourning the end his engagement to her sister and now the subject had taken a complete opposite route. Ah, but she really wanted to say she could the right woman for him.

"I'm sure there is…in the right time she will come to you and she will be the happiest woman in the world…"

Pierce studied her. It was a fact he had noticed her existence long ago. They always got along and used to have good laughter together. Elizabeth didn't glow like Katarina, but she shone in her unique way. He felt good near her, with her. And now, he felt different. He remembered the several occasions he had spotted her looking at him, usually at distance and always treated him kindly. Always interested in whatever he had to say. He knew she was a good listener. He was starting to notice her in a different and new way.

"What if she is already next to me?"

She made a face

"Right in front of me?"

She swallowed. Her legs trembling as he closed the distance between them.

"I don't care what people would say. We haven't done anything wrong…"

"You love my sister…"

"There is life after her…"

"I don't want to be her replacement…"

"And you're not and won't be!"

"I have loved you in silence…" she whispered

"I noticed you long ago… but I can see you better right now"

"Or do you see in me what you wanted in her?"

"I told you for me you both are like water and oil. Two different people… two different feelings"

"Why just now?"

"Because now I'm free!"

She looked down, "I don't know Pierce…this is too sudden for me…"

He nodded in agreement, "It is for me too, but I'm willing to give time the time… we don't need to be in a hurry"

"Yes, I prefer it that way…"

Sometime later Pierce and Elizabeth started a relationship. Gradually Elizabeth helped Pierce overcome the pain Katarina had caused in him and forget the bitter words she told him. The news of their wedding reached Katarina's knowledge.

" _Humpf…my little sister taking my trash… as the usual. She always envied me and always dreamed to be me. Now she can feel a bit the taste of it… of Pierce. Ugh… I still remember his flesh, his taste, his fire…_

 _Humpf, I know I could do one snap of fingers and he would come to my lap just like a puppy! However, I will not do that with the only O'Gregon I like. She is the only one I can allow him to be with! After all, she is a true O'Gregon! My shadow! So funny!_

 _Hahaha, apparently Pierce could not let go of the O'Gregon's… Elizabeth is his prize of consolation after losing me!_ _Hahaha_

 _What a joke!"_

* * *

 **Thank you Herpderp for the review! :D**

 **Now we reached an important point of the story. Time is passing. Cycles are ending. New cycles about to start and the wheel of time slowly turning. This is the penult chapter before the time advances into the 17th century.**

 _ **So, I'm sure some of you have noticed, I do keep changing the covers of the fic according to the chapters advance and since I'm about to change the models, I'd like (and I confess I forgot to add that before xD, sorry, my bad!) to inform the models I used so far.**_

 **Katarina O'Gregon 17th - Nina Dobrev (I must say that it was a big coincidence that her character in the famous series is also Katherine...I must tell you I never watched that show! So the coincidence of character names wasn't a copy!)**

 **Angelique Stafford 17th - two different unnamed models from Google**

 **Christopher Reed - Google for his 17th model; Chris Redfield from Capcom in the 21st**

 **Pierce Northman - One unnamed model for his 17th model, Paul Wesley and Ekin Koç from this chapter on; Piers Nivans from Capcom in the 21st**

 **Elizabeth O'Gregon - Anastasia Tsilimpio**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	16. Stay With Me or Be Mine

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. Some OC's and story background belong to me.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

 **21st Century, 2009**

"I have something to tell you" said her boyfriend as he massaged her feet

"About what?"

"My work… I know you were planning to go on a long trip again to investigate those dreams and get your inspiration back… But I got an offer, a great offer and I really want to take that…"

"But?"

"But for that I need to move to another country"

"What country?"

"Edonia"

"It's in Europe…"

"Yeah it's in Europe…I told you before but I'll say it again, from the things you tell me, I have a feeling that the place you're looking for is in Europe and as you were thinking of moving to another country, I think this job offer came in hand"

"Yeah… I know… but it never crossed my mind to go to Edonia…"

And they ended up moving to Edonia, in Eastern Europe. They were living there for a couple of months when Angelina watched a documentary about the neighbor country, Bohma, that triggered a strong and weird feeling in her.

Moved by her adventurous spirit and curiosity, she bought a train ticket so she could enjoy better the new journey. Although, all the time she had a weird sensation and a feeling that she was back home, which caused her a mix of feelings.

The trip amused her, no wonder why it was a country that was known for the strong culture of Arts. It's hard not to feel inspired for anything living in a place so beautiful, full of vivid nature, mountains, rivers, colors and calm. The opposite of the big cities.

Walking across the streets and studying its architecture she really felt like going back in time. Bohmans had the strong passion to preserve their history and arts.

* * *

 **17th Century**

" _He returned different. Very different. I barely recognize the man I fell in love. He is still a brave knight and the king's right hand. I am sure Christopher will reach higher status within the years and I want to be by his side when that happens. I always knew Christopher had everything to be Great! Even a Great Duke! Christopher is like the full package in one and I cannot miss that! By his side I will be Great too… because that is indeed what I am! Great!" Katarina's diary_

 **Forest of Bohma**

Knocks on the door

"You?" the teller spoke as she opened the door and saw the woman wearing a long coat as she removed the cap

"The right treatment is your highness"

"In my house, there's no distinction. Here everyone is equal… Including You." The woman spoke with conviction, "Would you like to get in?" she added

Katarina didn't reply but stepped in

"So, what do you want?"

"I want to know about my life"

"Can you be a bit more specific?"

"The prospects of my future and marriage"

The woman closed her eyes holding some stones. In silent prayer, she played the stones and threw it in the metal bowl, which lighted fire up. Katarina watched the fire delighted.

"Which one do you prefer to hear first?" the dowser spoke

"My future"

"You have a long path ahead that will ascend you to a glorious life. For now, the wheel of fortune is on your side. You have merit for that from previous lives. You will be tested in the power, your inclinations and it will only be in your hands and wisdom to cope with the results… and you will have a prestigious marriage"

Satisfied with the first answer, Katarina took some coins, "Great. It's just as I planned"

"Not exactly" the woman spoke

Katarina looked at her with a serious expression, "What do you mean? I will marry Christopher, will I?"

The dowser replied, "You will, until the wheel of fortune turns…"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"The higher you reach, the higher the fall… and you can't force someone's love and payback time will arrive"

"So tell me more!" Katarina demanded

"It's all that was revealed to me" the woman replied not feeling threatened

"Liar! Tell me!" Katarina spoke bitterly, "It is an order!"

The dowser only remained in silence staring at Katarina fearless. Infuriated, Katarina threw the bag of coins on the ground still staring back at the woman who didn't move a muscle, facing the imposing woman.

" _Angely my love, where are you? Didn't the doctor tell you where to find me? How are you? Have you recovered from the illness? I miss you so much!"_

Christopher Reed sent letters through several messengers to all the places he knew he could find Angelique; even to her family's in hope they could give him an answer of her whereabouts.

In an afternoon, the young royal knight was sitting on the grass in the flower camp enjoying his own company. Loneliness had become a routine for the young man in waiting for an answer from the woman he loved. The days seemed to be a long and eternal wait that always lighted up more frustration to his lonely soul when the messengers came with negative responses.

He heard footsteps and looked back to see who that was. He couldn't disguise his frustration to see the beautiful noblewoman walking to his direction with an apparent saddened expression.

"Fancy meeting you here this time of the day" she spoke breaking the ice, "You do not have to bother to leave, I will make sure to stay in a further location out of your reach"

"You insult me speaking that way"

"You do not seem to enjoy my company anymore. I noticed that"

"It's not the way you are speaking… I just needed time for myself… and you did act like we had something else…"

"I am not the one with amnesia… We have always been more than just friends and before you start rolling your eyes, I tell that I will not mention that any longer to you. I have realized that I shall have to accept that whatever we had; lies in the distant past"

"What exactly did we have?" he asked

"Do you really want to know?" she raised her eyebrows in surprise

"I guess I need to understand why you insist so much…"

She gasped, "Can we understand and explain love?" she made a rhetoric question, "Do you really want to know?"

He made a face with a shrug, "Just don't take it as a reconciliation to whatever we had… I just think we never had a proper conversation on the matter…"

"We did not! One night you were happy drinking in the tavern. Telling stories and adventures. You were even flirting with the bartenders. I had never seen you so happy like that. It was already late when we left the tavern. We were walking the streets when you praised me. You told me how beautiful I was and how fun I could be. Enjoyed my company… you always knew I had feelings for you. I did not even know how to react to all the things you were saying, but I thought it was just the booze and you did not want the night to end yet. So I said it did not have to… you grinned and the next second you pulled to a kiss… I still can taste the alcohol in your mouth; in mine. Your hot and wet tongue. Your beard on my skin…"

He swallowed as he listened to her. He did have those memories still vivid in his mind. He could still remember how warm and soft she felt on him. Her wetness. Her passion quickly turning him on. She was the most beautiful woman in town and there she was completely willing to be his. No matter how hard he had tried to fight the physical attraction she ignited in him… but he also had heard the rumors. The seductress she could be. That night he didn't care. He listened to his basic instinct to copulate with the best female in town… she did was the best fuck he ever had… she still keeps that title even over two years since the fatidic night – damn it!

"We made love all night long… you praised me several times. There was a passion in your eyes I had never seen in any other men before… I gave you all I had! That was a chance I could not miss, so I did my best. I gave you my all… you were even my first in another way… I gave you and did everything! Everything you asked, everything I wanted!

You told me you wanted more and that we were going to repeat it several other times. That was music to my in love ears! To my stupid heart! For the first time I had made love and it was the best night I have ever had! The following morning you cherished me, so I was sure that your passion was not due to the booze and we made love again. In a cheap motel near the alley, you kissed me. You took the initiative; you knew my feelings for you. You proved me you were the one I always dreamed of! So I took the initiative to talk to my father to give us permission to get married because in my head, your words were like promises and I wanted to keep that. I did want us to repeat, to love each other without the others talking shit about us! They called me a whore, but I only wished to be Your whore in bed and the Lady in society… just as it is in the hypocrite system… so stupid and silly of me! My father told me a loud no and then when I searched for your comforting arms, you told me to forget it all! And called my love a mistake! So why you said it? Why did you lead me on? Why did you treat me coldly afterwards but not so rarely I caught you staring me, desiring me? Why did you act like a douche with me?"

He looked away biting his lips. Fear perhaps? He didn't have the answer. He still questioned his feelings for her even nowadays. He was sure he loved Angely. But Katarina was Katarina. That was all he had of an answer.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt you… I'm sorry…"

"Let's try again! I am absolute sure we can work this time!"

"I can't…"

Out of the blue, Katarina leaned on him and kissed his lips. He struggled, initially. But in the last seconds, he kissed her back before turning his face away

"Why not? I can still see doubt in your eyes… you just proved me now!"

"I'm sorry but I can't" he said walking away

"Why not?" she followed him and grabbed his arm turning him to her

"Because I love another woman"

"The plebeian?!" she spoke bitterly

Christopher inhaled not losing his temper, "Yes, the 'plebeian'…"

"What does she have that I do not?" she asked fighting her tears

"Is it possible to explain love? All I know is that I'm married to her" he replied with a single tone and walked away

"Married…" her voice failed and a deep pain cored through her body as she watched the man walking distantly brokenhearted

A blond and blue-eyed man was locking the door of his study when he heard hurriedly footsteps walking the corridor of the building.

"Vladimir"

"Katarina"

"Thank God you are still here!"

"My shift is over"

"I do not want you shift… at least not that shift you are referring…" she spoke looking him up and down as if analyzing him

"What are you talking about?"

"May we get in for some privacy?" she spoke with a naughty gaze

"My wife is waiting at home. If you want to talk, come by tomorrow" he spoke politely as he passed by her

She grabbed him by the arm, "I cannot wait for tomorrow!"

"What do you want Katarina? Just say it"

"Please, in the study. I need privacy to give you something"

"Just give me…"

She inhaled catching her patience, "In the study…please" she spoke with a seductive smile, "It is something you always wished for…"

Defeated, the man obeyed to her request. He still was the personal doctor of the O'Gregon's, fearing Katarina could make something up and play as a victim to her father that could damage his work, he unlocked the door and the two stepping in together.

"But quick in whatever you need. I really need to go home for my family"

"You have children, right?"

"Yes I do. Three boys. Why?"

"So you make children without a problem…"

"Yes and why do you ask?"

She smiled in a naughty way as she started loosen her dress, "Because you can gave me what I need and you will have what you always wanted!" she threw the charts and papers on his desk on the ground, "Just do your thing!" she removed her dress and sat on the corner of the desk spreading her legs

Vladimir could not believe his eyes. Katarina O'Gregon fully naked on his desk, inviting him in. that could not be real! Not even in his most secretive dreams, she had ever being so easy on him. She teased him by playing herself. His body immediately responded and even hurt inside his pants.

"What the…"

"Do not think, just do it! And do it quickly, like you said…"

He gasped, "Straight to the point like that? No romance or caresses?" he spoke releasing his pants and stepping between her legs

She laughed, "She will caress you" she spoke leaning down her pelvis and letting him in.

The blond man moaned with the sudden warm and tight friction. He could not believe it was real. He was feeling the woman of his dreams!

"Oh and please… release it inside!" she spoke locking him between her legs firmly feeling his pelvis against hers deeply. Torturing him with her spasms and moans. Vladimir had just proved her he wasn't not that much of a waste of sex appeal. He was good in his thing, "Ah and another very important detail, enjoy it as much as you can. This will not last forever! That will only last until your seed bloom in me…"

Those intimate meetings became a daily routine for them.

 _Christopher Reed was made Vice-Admiral and began to apply himself to naval matters but was soon promoted to the House of Lords when he became Viscount Lisle. Being now a peer, Reed became Lord Admiral and a Knight of the Garter in the late 17th's._

It was Christopher's 23rd birthday. He did like the date very much. Actually, the only time he did enjoy his birthday was when he turned 22 and Angelique had prepared him a surprise. Three months had passed since he had last seen Angelique. He sent a messenger to look for her in their cottage, but the news came negative. No traces of her. He thought she had returned to her father's home due to her sickness, so he waited for her everyday he spent in the court as he was practically forbidden to leave the castle with his new position in the court due to his warning that saved the kingdom in the battle before his "death". By now, he had ceased the farce of his memory loss.

In the morning, he was sitting on the corner of the fountain in the garden of the labyrinth in the castle, wondering in his thoughts as he heard the sounds of the water and the birds chirping. Something that brought him nostalgia back to the days in the Lake Manor.

He didn't notice someone was behind him and only felt delicate hands covering his eyes from behind. For a brief moment, his heart filled with hope and he smiled, "Angie…"

"Good morning milord!" the brunette woman spoke cheerfully

"Ah, Kat…Good morning" he spoke in disappointment

"Were you expecting someone else?" she asked lifting one eyebrow

"No, I expected you to stop doing this. You know I can't stand such plays!"

"Ouch, so bitter! I was just trying to amuse you…"

"Thank you, but I don't need it"

"No need to be so rude on me!" she spoke feeling offended

He inhaled and let out a long sigh, "Sorry… what do you want?"

She smiled largely, "I wanted to congratulate you for your birthday and to give you this…" she said handing him a small box

"Thank you, but what's that?"

"Open it!"

He let out a sigh and open it, taking a pocket watch, "A watch… thank you."

"It is not any watch! It is gold made with diamonds and your family crest printed on it!"

"You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to! You deserve it and more!"

"Thank you Kat…" he smiled faintly, "Will you excuse me, I have to check on the king and see if he needs anything…"

"Alright…" she replied a bit saddened, "I will go with you. You know I hate staying alone…"

"Yeah, but I said I'm going to see the king…"

"Yes I heard it! I meant I will join you until the castle and then I will head to my chamber"

"Alright…if you insist…" he spoke letting out a heavy sign

Katarina was a determined woman. Since he returned to the castle, she always made sure to not lose track of him. Although she didn't do much of intimate advances since the day at the flower camp. Finally, she seemed to respect him, as she knew he had feelings for Angelique.

Katarina was waiting outside Vladimir's study as he finished attending his last patient of the day.

He smiled when he opened the door and spotted her. He was used to what her presence meant, although it had a couple of weeks since she had visited him. He invited her in, locking the door. Soon after, he started loosen his pants.

"What do you think you are doing?" she questioned him making a face

"About to give you my seed…"

She frowned, "Put it on. That is not the reason why I am here"

"No?" he spoke in frustration

"No!"

"You don't need my seed anymore?"

"I still do not know, but I do need 'that thing' I had commented with you"

"The day has arrived?"

"Yes, the day has arrived!"

He let out a sigh and walked to the cabinet to get a small bottle to hand the brunette woman, "Here. Be careful to not exaggerate in the dosage, it's aphrodisiac but it can happen the opposite of what you expect"

She smiled, "Thank you! Aphrodisiac, I love that word!" she said giving her hand and grabbing the air as Vladimir pulled his hand back and smiled mischievously, "What now?"

"It's been a while and I'm full of seeds to give you…" he put his pants down

Katarina forced a smile. She was already tired of him and she still had hope that she still could get Christopher's seed.

She had studied the law in detail. She had also visited the Stafford's to guarantee their silence on her rival's true whereabouts. A task that wasn't difficult as she could count with the father's disgust. She knew there was still chance to annul Christopher's supposed marriage and she was counting on that.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Evening**

Christopher could not believe his friends had prepared a surprise birthday for him, which ended up being a good thing. That day, more than never, his thoughts were on Angelique. He still felt the ache of not having any response from her in so long time. The messengers failed giving him an answer and he had been busy enough serving the king to search for her on his own. Although he knew he couldn't do anything that time of the day, so he just enjoyed the party with his friends at the court. Even the royal family participated of the celebration as they had a strong friendship of years.

In the other hand, Katarina prepared herself for the great night. She wore her best seductive red gown, her best perfume and makeup. She kept the bottle very well hidden between her breasts and as she always managed, she stole everyone's attention with her radiant way to be. The true seductress. She sang, she danced, she played games. She made sure to entertain everyone, but more importantly, to entertain Christopher always serving him alcohol.

Hours passed, everyone seemed to be having a good time with all the booze, music and food. Christopher started demonstrating some expected sighs of the effect of the solution Katarina had used in some of his drinks.

"It's so hot here!" he commented loosen his shirt as he was standing in the balcony enjoying some fresh air

"Yes it is!" she agreed with a delighted smile, "I wish I could loosen my gown too…" she spoke leaning down her cleavage a bit more without shame as there was only the two of them

He laughed noticing her suggestive sign, "You really don't change, do you?"

"What?" she played the innocent

He only smiled, "I'm going to sleep. Good night and have fun!" he replied turning away. The signs of drunkenness were also evident as he walked losing his balance

"Are you sure you can find your chamber own your own or even climb the stairs?" she spoke grabbing hold of his arm

He didn't reject her help. The booze had him easier to approach. They walked through the great hall where all the guests had their fun. Christopher thanked for their time and wish them a goodnight before heading to his bedchamber. Grabbing hold of another glass of beer, he walked alongside the brunette.

His senses were out of his control. Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was his memories, maybe it was his need, maybe it was the lack of answer on Angelique. Maybe it was everything that combined made him allow Katarina's seduction.

She opened the door of his bedchamber.

"Thank you. I can take from here…" he spoke with a drunk voice

"I will help you undress. You cannot sleep with those heavy clothes"

She undressed him slowly and lovingly. At times, he seemed fearful or tentative. The flickering candlelight of the bedroom lit their bodies in images that would stay in their minds forever.

Taller than her, his eyes had a good view of her exposed cleavage. So tempting. His hands turned into those of an experienced lover and helped her undress.

She put her left hand on his clothed dick and squeezed it slightly. She smiled. With her hand still on his dick, she came closer to kiss him. She closed her eyes as their lips met. It was so sensual. He preferred to look at her sexy body exposing as the long fabric of her gown fell to the floor.

"My bladder is bursting. I need to use…"

She let go of his dick and nodded in agreement.

He did what he had to do. His cock was fully erect. They were both very horny. They had to do something about it. Katarina had to do something about it.

Christopher walked towards her who was lying in bed, naked, playing with herself. That was very sensual. He watched her as she tempted him with her own fingers. He walked over to her side of the bed and moved his cock in the direction of her face. She let out a hearty laugh. She knew exactly what he wanted her to do. She knew he wanted her to suck him, just like in their first time. She was awesome at it.

Slowly she put him inside her mouth and started sucking it. Deep down her throat. He loved the hot and tight sensation around him. As she sucked, he played with her nipples. It had a long while since he hadn't been sucked such way, such perv way. So long, that he ejaculated in her mouth uncontrollably and also rinsed outside her mouth. She swallowed and licked part of his sperm on her mouth, tasting his cum.

"Sorry… I couldn't hold this time…" he apologized sitting next to her

"It is alright. I know it happens…" she replied using the sheet to clean her mouth

He laid on his back with the frenzy of his orgasm.

Katarina remembered very well he was a resistant man and wouldn't take long to rise again. Taking advantage of his position, she sat on top of him and planted kisses on his body. Christopher closed his eyes enjoying the sensations. He knew Katarina expected him to reattribute the same favor she had done to him, although he was too tired to do anything right now. She understood and continued doing her thing.

She looked down; he was still flaccid. He was taking longer to rise again this time. That shouldn't be the case, right?

She left his lap and grabbed his dick again, working him. Christopher still lying and with his eyes closed. She put it back into her mouth, but no response. She looked up, Christopher still motionless. Without reaction. She stood up and poked him, called his name. Nothing. He was still breathing. Frustrated, she realized he was sleeping.

She let out an annoyed sigh. She wished he would wake up again soon. Frustration took the all of her. Christopher slept directly until the next morning.

The next morning when Christopher woke, dizzy and with migraine, his eyes widened when he noticed the woman sleeping between his arm and chest. Naked. Both naked. Remorse took over him as he realized what had happened.

" _Oh damn Angely… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… For a while I thought it was you…For a while it just felt like you…"_

* * *

 **Convent of Bohma**

Angelique woke up with sickness once again which got the nuns' attention. The young redhead girl nearly ate and even lost some weight, although her belly seemed bigger as the weeks passed.

Remembering how the redhead had arrived in the convent, the head nun started to understand what had really happened for the young girl to be banned from her family.

"Call a midwife!" she ordered

A couple of days later, the midwife confirmed the nun's suspicions.

"Pregnant…" Angelique could not believe it. She still hadn't had time to process the news when the head nun called her to her study chamber.

"Angely, I will not prolong much this conversation. With the confirmation of your pregnancy, I might inform you that a future nun and member of this convent… You will not be allowed to keep your child…"

"What?"

"Nuns cannot be mothers! As we stand for the life of the creatures, you will have permission to bore the child but immediately after the birth, the child will be taken for adoption. No outsider has permission to know the sins of a nun."

"What? No! I will not give my child!"

"This is not your child. It's a fruit of sin!"

"It's a fruit of love!"

"Really, so where's the father of the child?"

"He's in the court! He's waiting for me there!"

"Nuns are not allowed to live the convent…"

"This is prison! This is wrong! I am a married woman. My child is a fruit of love and my husband is waiting for me!"

"You want to leave, you can leave. But you cannot return. Once a sinner, always a sinner"

"I'd rather be a sinner than to give my child away!"

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

Katarina was in her bedchamber doing the math repeatedly. She had a satisfied smile, although a mix of feelings. For weeks had passed since she had slept with Christopher, but the math could not fool her. Her cycle was delayed. She needed to put her plan in action before anyone else would notice it. Reconciled with her family, she counted on their support, but more importantly, she needed an extra support to guarantee the success of her plan.

Once again, Katarina O'Gregon had caused another scandal by announcing her pregnancy by Christopher. With her influent friend, Katarina obtained the suggestion of the king to marry her. Once again, the apparent same story.

"Katarina, you'd better get married this time. We are a chess game you can play whatever you want." The king warned her

"I never had any intentions to play with your highness! But it is of everyone's knowledge my feelings for Christopher for so many years!"

"Yes indeed"

"And I had accepted to start a new life with Pierce because I believed Christopher was dead, which is not the case. That would be wrong to continue with a marriage when my heart and fidelity belonged to Christopher, do not you agree?"

"I do agree, but what about Christopher? Does he share the same feelings for you?"

"Of course he does! He bedded me and now I am carrying his child! Does not it prove his feelings for me?"

Christopher listened to the debate in silence. Disappointed with himself. Angry at himself. All the talk only got him feeling worse about himself. About the whole thing. However, words were stuck in his throat, suffocating him.

Why did he always ended up disappointed people? Especially the ones who cared about him?

Months had passed and there was no news of Angelique. Looking for her forgiveness, he went to her family's manor only to find out that she was still recovering from her illness somewhere else that they refused to tell him, after all, he was the cause of her illness. So was he told.

He watched Katarina debating with the king, fighting for her rights. For her child's rights. Their child. His child. That was a painful fact to him. He surely would give all the support to their child, but the rules of the time and their position in the society demanded from them an example to given. Marriage was the only solution to clear their lust situation. Marriage. A word that hurt into his core.

Even more annoyed with all the debate, Christopher stood up from his seat.

"Your Highness, with all the respect, I need the word here"

"Permission granted"

"I understand the whole morale involving Katarina and me… and our child. I give you my word that nothing will be missed for them, however I must say that marriage between us is impossible"

"Why is it impossible?" the older man asked

"Because I'm already married!"

"What?" the man spoke in shock

Katarina held her breath with the loud statement. A cold water to her plans. She looked down biting her lips as she used all her effort to keep her composure and not have an outburst.

"Angelique Reed Stafford is my wife's name. We married in the Peasants' Province before a legal judge of justice"

Katarina listened to their voices at distance as a profound wave of anger surrounded her. in an impulse she left the men without giving explanations. Immediately she rushed to the Lake Province.

* * *

 **Staffords' Manor**

"Where is the bitch?!" Katarina shouted angrily at Amelia Stafford

"She doesn't live here anymore"

"Where is she?"

"She's incommunicable"

"Why?"

"She was banned from the family after we found her at the Peasants' Province"

"Where did you take her?"

"To a convent in a distant location"

"I want you to get rid of her!"

"But how?"

"Go to the fucking convent and kill her, damn it! Do I have to think of everything alone?!" Katarina yelled

"I cannot do that!"

"Why not? What do you want in exchange?"

"I can be recognized…"

"Send another person, you idiot! People do visit churches, convents and all that places! It is not hard to find someone to play the insider to do the job!"

Amelia remained in silence thoughtful

"I do not care how you do it, all I need is the bitch dead! No one from the family is going to miss the bitch, right? She is not important anymore but she still is in my way!"

"I'll provide that, milady!"

"Good. You do it! When the job is done we talk about compensations… and in the meantime, do not open your damn mouth! Do not ever mention my name! If you or anyone ever tell about my visit here, I will make sure to make you all pay for that and cry rivers of blood!" the brunette spoke bitterly, with a cynic smile and then entered the carriage and returned to her family's home.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Phew, that was a long chapter! The longest so far! I even had to split it in two because it would be too much information to sink in :D**

 **I'd like to tell that I'm still having the bug problem with the fic, I don't know why and I do hope this won't be too much of a problem :(**

 **I also want to thank everyone who reads, follows me, favorites me and all. You guys are Great! :D**

 **I won't prolong much in my notes so far, but as always...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	17. Skyfall

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. Some OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

Christopher Reed was determined to prove his marriage as the new situation between him and Katarina was delicate. Both were important figures in the kingdom and the example was supposed to come from them.

That time, marriage had a different context, especially for the nobility and aristocracy, as their possessions was a determinate important subject. All of her family's possessions would be his and all his possessions would be hers.

There were several criteria, which decided whether a match was 'appropriate'. Contemporary moralists recommend that the couple should be of similar age, background, financial circumstances and religious beliefs. Concord in manners and interests was beneficial as well. The husband and wife should like and respect each other—even love each other—but they should beware of mere sexual fascination and look for inner qualities. The widespread opinion was that love came after the wedding.

Generally, traditional church law placed great emphasis on the sacredness of marriage and on its inseparability. Divorce in the modern sense of the word (i.e. termination of a valid marriage with the possibility of remarrying) was not recognized.

A substitute option was declaring the marriage invalid (i.e. stating that the bond had never been a proper marriage); to do this, it had to be proved that the marriage was defective in some way. The most common reasons were the infancy of the couple at the time of the spousals; permanent impotence or frigidity or the discovery that the couple were in fact relatives. Declaring the marriage invalid gave both partners an opportunity to remarry. Another alternative of escape from an unhappy marriage was a legal separation 'from bed and table'. This procedure was possible in cases of proven adultery or extreme cruelty. However, the disadvantage was that the marriage bond remained undivided and the separated partners could not marry again. The third option was a procedure called _divortium a vinculo matrimonii_ , an act very close to divorce, which could only be achieved upon the decision of the Parliament. Needless to say, it was a very protracted and expensive procedure.

The law of marriage in Bohma had changed significantly compared to other European countries; somehow, it seemed more advanced for that time.

Despite divorce was a new word for them, but possible in Bohma. It would take a long time and money, so the faster way to get rid of the married status was by invalidating the marriage certificate/spousals. That could be done in good terms with the other spouse, or by proving fraud and there were specific reasons to determinate it, or by the death of the spouse.

Christopher's case was fitting the separation 'from bed and table' as Angelique had never been introduced as his legitimate wife. For Christopher, somehow, that was a good thing considering he could not get married to Katarina; that was the law!

However, the despair had taken on Katarina as she rushed again to the Stafford's in hope to solve her matter accompanied by a royal witness and Christopher. She hoped her presence would threaten them and they wouldn't lie before her.

* * *

 **Stafford's Manor**

Christopher yelled Angelique's name by the land's entrance. Soon after, the stepmother opened the door and invited them in.

"Where's Angelique?" he asked in despair

The woman looked down covering her face as she looked down, "I'm afraid to break the news that Angelique is deceased. Christopher we are very sorry for the loss and apologize for not had contacted you before as she was isolated because of…her illness…" said the stepmother pretending a saddened demeanor

"What? No!"

"She didn't resist to her illness." the father confirmed his wife's statement

"No… This can't be true!" inconsolable Christopher whispered in denial as tears cored his face and a horrendous ache filled his soul. He hurried through the chambers calling her name, he couldn't believe the news. All places proved to be empty. He rushed to her bedchamber, breaking the locked door.

In there, he saw all the portraits and paintings she had created. For his ache to hurt even deeper, he saw the large object turned to her bed. Stepping closer to it, he uncovered it.

" _My dear, my love Christopher,_

 _This painting of you is one of the things that keep me entertained when I'm away from you. It's a way for me to feel you a bit close to me, watching me._

 _I have studied all the details of your face, your handsome face and I tried to be the most realistic as possible, so I took a long time working on it._

 _I wanted to keep it in secret so I could give to you on your birthday as a special gift. By the way, this will be the second birthday we will spend together, huh!_

 _I'm so excited for that! Especially now that I have my father's consent for our marriage and it's just a matter of time until we will be husband and wife, and live at least, the happiest days and years of our lives in our cozy cottage!_

 _I still cannot believe I'm finally reaching the treasure of the end of the rainbow...!_

 _I had already lost my hope and had accepted the dark future… so you came with your light and restored my own faith. The faith in me. The faith in us!_

 _So I pray… and thank God for putting you in my life to teach me and show me how to grow, how to love, how to be stronger!_

 _You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I wish that I can make you feel the same way I do. That I make you happy, that I make you satisfied with your new lifestyle, that I make you feel loved…_

 _And someday our love will be multiplied when we start our own family and have beautiful children!_

 _I'm really looking forward to all those plans we have made…_

 _I'm still paralyzed in that lake moment, do you remember?_

 _I'm still there…_

 _I will always be there!_

 _For now, just accept this little gift. There are more in my bedchamber!_

 _With all my love,_

 _Angely Reed_

 _Ps: I love when you call me Angely. So I decided to sign all my works as Angely… Angely Reed as my true future name!_ "

Christopher cried even harder as he read the letter she had written for him and the painting was supposed to be his birthday gift – his painting. Damn birthday! He so wished he could forget that day, that night!

Remorse grew stronger in him. He shouldn't had waited so much! He should've had come earlier to be with her in her final days.

Under an impulse, he took all her paintings, letters and personal belongings. He was decided to keep all of it with him. All that was left of her. Her memories.

(*)

Katarina smiled in delight inertly and taking advantage of Christopher's focus in the objects going up and down the stairs, so she called the stepmother for a private conversation to compensate them with money and jewelry without witness.

"I must repeat that I have never been here before!" Katarina spoke in a threatening tone as a cynic smiled formed on her lips

"Of course milady! My lips are sealed and thank you very much for closing the business with me as both parties have gotten satisfied with the results"

Both women smiled sealing their deadly alliance.

None of the Stafford's opposed to Christopher's act. The stepmother even thanked inertly as for her those paintings were all a bunch of trash and soon she was going to dispose of all of it. The father secluded himself in the library.

Katarina waited in the carriage, patiently. Thinking about her next steps.

(*)

Amelia Stafford entered the library when Christopher and the others were gone.

"Why did you lie to her?" the man questioned with a concerned expression

"Because somehow is the truth! Angelique doesn't have any other place to go and she's too poisoned to believe that she can go after Christopher since he has used and abandoned her! You have taught her a very good lesson and she will not dare to step in in his life again."

"I just wish that woman will never find out the truth…"

"She won't find us! She gave a very good payment that we can live happily until the end of our lives! We can sell this manor and earn even more and move to another village as you are retired now… Plus, if she wanted Angelique out of her way, she should've had done it herself! After all, she has the better resources, right?"

* * *

 **Some time later**

It was still early dawn, the sun hadn't even risen. Angelique knew the usual time the nuns used to get up and start their chores. She waited for the right day. For the right time. She had observed their routine. The routine in the convent.

Several weeks had passed since Angelique had the confirmation of her pregnancy. She still could not believe it, totally. There were still few times that she caught herself thinking. Thinking a lot on her child. On her future. On Christopher. They were a family now. Even though apart.

So she waited for the right time. She waited until she could feel better from the sickness and recover from her wounds. Her trauma. She was a mother now. She was stronger. She had to be stronger. For her and more importantly, for her child.

And for their sacred love, she was becoming a stronger woman. Yes, she could now see herself as a woman. She was in the end of the 18. Her child would be her 19th birthday gift. A gift Christopher and the man of her life had given her.

So she waited. Days. Weeks. Taking notes of every schedule and gaps for her to run away. That was her only option. She wasn't going to give away her child, her piece of love. A piece of herself. A pierce of Christopher. No she wouldn't!

She wasn't like her father. She was different. She was the opposite. She would take full responsibility of the child she was bringing to the world. No matter if they said it was a sin. Being a mother wasn't a sin! Being responsible wasn't a sin! No shame!

During that time, she was learning a new way to see life. to make plans. Nothing now was about her. And her strength came from the little being growing inside her belly as if it was a light of hope give her courage and inspiration to fight the evil world around her. As if it was her guardian angel. Her little angel.

Christopher taught her to believe in herself. She believed him. She believed his promises, his dreams. He had always fulfilled his words in a way or another, but he did. She had faith on him. He brought the faith back to her. A faith she had lost when her mother passed away, her defender. She got lonely. She got down. She didn't believe she deserved good and better things.

And her child was teaching her to be a fighter. A defender.

She still had faith that Christopher would be waiting for her. That was his message when he didn't return when he was captured by the royal guardians. That was all she knew. Was it true or not? Only time would tell. She would only know the day she passed those gates and left that prison to go on his meet.

And the day had arrived.

Tick-tock, tick-tock

She could hear the clock. She could hear her breathing. The hours, the minutes, the seconds before her freedom. A tough freedom. Escaping the prison would start a commotion and as an ordinary young woman, pregnant and alone would only elevate the challenge to be on her own until she reunited with Christopher once again. Once and for all. So they could be and raise the little family they were expecting. That was their plan while at the lake moment, wasn't it?

She passed the gates without being noticed and ran across the forest to stop anyone from spotting her, caring a bottle of water and some fruits and wearing the only piece of clothing she had, her ripped dress when she arrived in the convent. She walked nonstop. She knew there was a nearby village that she would reach faster if she were on a horse. That wasn't the case.

She was scared? Damn sure she was! But somehow, she felt braver. Something gave her strength, faith or whatever that could be called so she could continue despite her fear of animals or thieves. That was her only option.

However, morning sickness still hit her hard in the mornings, the tiredness and the mix of feelings might had taken her harder that day and a sudden sickness took over her as she reached the commerce. Walking in a dim alley, weak and dizzy and out of food or water, Angelique succumbed to the sickness and fell on the ground.

Passing by there in a non-ordinary occasion, a woman in her mid-forties spotted the young redhead on the ground. Immediately, she let go of the big fabric bag she was carrying and rushed to the aid of the mysterious girl.

A man of average looks and apparently in his mid-twenties followed the woman carrying other loads. Without thinking twice, he let go of them and rushed to help the woman.

* * *

 **O'Gregon's Manor**

And the wedding preparations started. Christopher was declared a widower and was given permission to marry Katarina and take responsibilities for his sensual adventures with the noblewoman, after all, it wasn't a just one time fact.

Katarina was in her bedchamber with her sister Elizabeth whom she had chosen as her maid of honor and Pierce as the best man. She didn't have planned that with anticipation, but that fact had a delightful detail: to torture Pierce a little bit as he would watch her marry Christopher and make him swallow his words.

Elizabeth opened a medium-sized wooden box. In there, there were the O'Gregon jewels, the finest ones. Among them a fabulous collection that had graced the throats and wrists and fingers of generations of O'Gregon women. Just last month at a charity ball, Katarina had wore the stunning heirloom emerald necklace and matching earrings worn by a O'Gregon duchess, that genteel paragon of beauty and class. She swallowed, that necklace alone could secure a jewel thief a luxurious retirement – if he could remove it from the O'Gregon estate.

Yes, she had blue blood. If she had ever wished, she could've had been a queen.

Katarina closed her eyes and tried to imagine how stunning and fabulous she wanted to look like in her wedding, especially with the man of her wishes, Christopher Reed, the most disputed bachelor in the kingdom that didn't belong to the royal family.

She wanted it to be the most important event, the most sumptuous, the main topic of the kingdoms, of the court.

Back then, white gowns wasn't the trend for marriages and Katarina didn't wish for that either. She wanted to shine, she wanted a lot of glow, so she picked a long and luxurious golden gown with pearls and jewelry. She also wanted to make sure all the guests would have the time of their lives, eat and drink a lot. Dance music, have fun – feel free. Probably her wedding was one of the most expensive in all over Bohma, if not the most expensive one due to all the details.

"Ugh, I cannot breath with this stupid huge belly!" the brunette murmured

"Don't speak like that! It's your child and it's not even that apparent like you think" Elizabeth replied as she helped her sister getting dressed

"It is not evident? I look huge and fat! I was not supposed to look this ugly in my wedding day!"

"The wedding was prepared very quickly…considering all the details…"

"But the stupid belly is growing faster!"

"Don't call it stupid"

"I call it whatever I want. It is my child!"

The blonde woman let out a sigh, "I feel sorry for this child to be growing inside you and feel and absorb all this…negativity…"

"You can take it for you if you want when is born…" Katarina shrugged looking at the mirror as if she didn't care

"What?" the blonde girl widened her eyes in puzzlement. Did she hear it correctly?

That moment, the bedchamber's door opened as their mother entered to inform them about their delay and that Christopher was already waiting in the chapel.

(*)

" _My wedding day… my second wedding day… I shrug._

 _Despite all the rush and simplicity, the emptiness of my first marriage, all we had to do was to sign the papers. I felt happier. I was happy while living hell. I was marrying the woman I love-d. Nothing was planned, there was no party, not even a honeymoon… My wife fell sick before we could enjoy our time as husband and wife. There was no honeymoon… There was no live happily forever… but there until death do us apart…_

 _My lovely wife… my angel… my Angely._

 _There is not a day, a minute, a second I don't think of you. I hope that wherever you are up there, you forgive me for having failed with you. For having bumped our plans. For not fulfilling our dreams. The dreams of happiness and a family in the cottage… But I promise you that I will always be in that moment in the lake when we still lived the sweetness of our love._

 _I hope you forgive me for being a man. A weak man… and now even mourning you I wed the beautiful noble. I wed my obligation. My duty._

 _But I still so wish it was you here walking the aisle carrying my child. Our child._

 _We'd be radiant and crying tears of joy. Not the tears of goodbye._

 _Once again, I beg for your forgiveness, as I have to let go of you as I have to say yes to my sin and to the wife I don't love._

 _They say that in arranged marriages love comes after, is built with the years… but I don't believe that. I believe we just love once and I have found my love in you._

 _But I will love my child and the only reason why I am passing over me, passing over my grief, passing over my feelings._

 _For this child, I hope you can forgive me._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _A child I'm not even sure is mine_ …"

* * *

 **Unknown Location in the neighborship of Bohma**

"Where am I?" Angelique questioned as she regained her conscience looking to the sides, trying to recognize the place as she sat up on the bed

Soon after, she saw a woman entering by the door who smiled kindly at her carrying a tray

"Thank goodness you are awake"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Margareth. My son and I found you unconscious in a nearby alley. How are you feeling now?"

"Tired…"

"Hungry and thirsty too?"

"Yes"

"I guess I had a good timing. I brought this for you"

"Thank you…"

"So, what's your name?"

"Angely…" she replied taking a big bite of the bread. She was really hungry.

"It's a pretty name"

"Thank you"

"Where are you from?"

"I need to go to the court…"

"The court?" the woman spoke analyzing the young girl. From her appearance, she couldn't tell the girl was a noblewoman.

"Yes. I need to see my husband. He serves the king"

"Well, all of us serve the king…"

"Yes, but I meant that he lives there, in the castle as his personal knight"

"Oh…" the woman made a face

"Mother"

The women heard a male voice by the door

"Oh, you're awake" he added as he spotted the young redhead

"This is my eldest son George. He's the one who helped me carry you home"

"Oh, thank you George and nice to meet you" she spoke with a light smile

"No problem, nice to meet you too…?" he left in hang

"Angely"

"Are you feeling better now, Angely?" he asked

"Yes and I don't even know how to apologize for all the trouble I have caused and how to pay for the shelter and food…"

"You don't have to do any of that. You needed help and we helped you"

She gave a soft smile

"By the way, she needs to go to the court. Do you know any shortcut? You could make her company so she won't wander out there alone and pregnant." the mother said and pointed her head at the young girl's belly

"Are you from the court?" he asked in surprised

"No, but my husband is… he works and lives there" the redhead said

"No, there aren't any shortcuts. We are 4hours distant from there, but the sun is almost setting. The road is dangerous, especially because of the big event of tomorrow. All the nobles and their families are coming to the event, so the roads are full of thieves waiting for them, even though there is a large amount of guards too."

"Oh, really? Is there any royal event or something?" the woman asked

"No. It's because of the wedding of a noblewoman from a very important family and very close to the king's"

"Oh I see… the richest pigs spending the poor's money on their whims…" the woman commented shaking her head in disapproval

"Yes, that's true fact." He gave a shrug and turned to look at the redhead girl, "So my advice to you, Angely, is for us to go tomorrow in daylight."

"Thank you George. But I don't want to give you any more trouble than I already did…"

"No trouble at all! It's dangerous a woman and pregnant walking alone, not to mention if you feel sick again… you'd better have someone to watch out for you"

She smiled faintly. She really didn't want to cause all that trouble.

"Well, now I have to go. My wife might be worried about my delay. Early tomorrow, I will be here" the man spoke saying his goodbyes for his mother and Angely.

The young redhead didn't have any other option but to obey to their suggestions. They were doing a big favor for her and she was grateful for that.

Since she started her endeavor, the wheel of fortune seemed to be on her side for some instances. She managed to escape the convent. She had the help of Margareth and George. They gave her shelter, food and new clothes. Margareth proved to be a woman with a big heart and somewhat lonely. She was a widow and had two sons, both already living in their own places and married.

She found out the woman had been married to a Marquees, but preferred to stay away from the court or any of that cycle. She preferred to raise her children in a "normal environment", away from the delusional circus of the court and teach them the value of labor and moral codes.

Despite her previous title, Margareth had a simple demeanor and a simple life. Her house wasn't big, nor small. Although, enough for and for the eventual visits of her relatives. From her way of being, no one could tell she had a title although she was respected among the villagers.

In the morning, Angelique and George headed to the court. In the village in the surroundings of the castle, Angelique could see the agitation, the commotion the so called wedding started. George was going to accompany her only until a certain point, but gave her instructions to not mistake the way.

They walked among the crowd in the central plaza and passed by the church where royal weddings were celebrated. The location was really full. Villagers, curious people, guards, fine carriages, horses surround the church's entrance.

Angelique looked to the church's direction in curiosity as she noticed the agitation of the people opening space for the newlyweds on their way out. The bride and her sumptuous golden dress, looking radiant, holding a bouquet of flowers to cover the visible belly bump – probably pregnant – and the groom at her side.

She blinked several times. Her vision was blurry. The sensation of sickness starting again as her heart pounded inside her chest. Blurred vision as the tears cored incessantly. Her eyes could not be mistaken. The serious groom was… Christopher. Her own husband or so called husband.

She finally recognized the radiant bride. Her unique and genuine beauty could not be mistaken. The woman Christopher seemed to run away.

A heavy sensation took over her body and dizzyness seemed to start. A very bad sensation that she could faint any moment as the weight of deception, frustration, anger took over her mind, her spirit, her memories. Ah her memories! The bitter memories! And all the talk her father and stepmother had lectured her the day they found her at the Peasant's land. The day she was beaten in all the ways, almost losing her child, for had run away with the man she fell in love and gave the all of her. Broke all her chains for the man who left her and now was marrying the beautiful noblewoman he said he couldn't stand.

Liar!

She had given him her virginity, her genuine feelings, her innocence, her life and then was abandoned by him.

Asshole!

She still carried the scars from all the beaten, the curses and had just made the ultimate act by escaping a safe place for sake of their child. Maybe she should've had accepted given for adoption if she knew the truth before.

No! Get away evil thoughts. No! She could never abdicate of her own flesh. It wasn't just that man's blood coring inside of her. It was her own blood too! Actually, it was all about her now. She was the one preparing the child. Giving it shelter. Life! despite all the negativity around her, that child gave her light. Gave her strength. Courage. Braveness! That growing child gave her hope. Gave her a reason to smile and not feel lonely anymore. Her child was the balm in the hell.

Bastard!

Somehow that stupid royal knight managed to annul their union. Or was bigamy allowed in the court?

It was evident his now wife was pregnant and for a longer period than the redhead was! Of course that was possible! Christopher had all the time and space to live his life alone and go wherever he wanted to go without anyone knowing it.  
Now, it made sense why the noblewoman was seen at the Peasant's Village… they were together there! They had conceived while he used to tell her how much he loved her and told all those plans and lies… pink future! How stupid she had been for believing that man!

Bastard…

Now that was her child's title…

Her child!

Only hers! Now he had no rights any longer. He made his choice and married the beautiful woman, the one who has always been of his level and position in society. The one who belonged to his world.  
The beaten had taught her a great lesson and not to be a fool anymore. Her father and stepmother's words echoed, screamed in her head as she watched the newlyweds kissing in public to demonstrate and prove their union.

Her heart nearly stopping, her soul crashing into tiny pieces.

Their words made so much sense now. Ah if she had listened to their lecture before the runaway or even before that… way before that…

That man had only used her. That man had only lied to her and took advantage of her immaturity. Of her inexperience. He had what he wanted and walked away. He broke her and walked away to never get back.

And she believing he was really waiting for her… what a stupid and foolish she had been for believing that! The truth was that he had said that to hurt her. To stage her disgrace when she got there and would been made a fool in public. A public humiliation. That was his plan!

Things didn't go as he planned. She didn't go to court and he would never know she had been there. He would never know she carried a piece of him.

She caressed her belly and she watched the noble couple enter the carriage.

She was leaving behind the moment in the lake. She was leaving behind all the lies. All the memories. She was leaving her old fool self along with the carriage that rode away.

All she had now was the lesson and the hurt… and her child.

That man had no rights anymore. That man now was only the man she had saved from drowning about two years ago. That was their story. That was the sin. He was the sinner.

From now on, she was going to find out who she really was. She could no longer be Angelique Stafford after been banned from the family from all her stupid sins.  
Being Angely didn't seem to be the right thing anymore.

Who was she now?

.

.

.

Disrupted.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Night**

"Where do you think you are going?"

"To my bedchamber" Christopher replied with a shrug

"It is our honeymoon!"

"We had the honeymoon long ago…" he replied with a cold tone

"Christopher, you are my husband now! We cannot sleep separately!" she almost yelled

"Yes we can! The king does it…" he shrugged

She smirked with a yell, "To have his mistresses!"

"There is no rule for married couples to share the same bed and don't expect me to do it. You got what you wanted, you married me. But don't insult me for thinking that I'd love you. You're a smart girl and you know the real reasons why this marriage happened. I'm your husband legally and I will be in the public's eyes but I won't be in the practice. I love Angelique and my soul is still married to her.  
I know you have needs between your legs and you may have your adventures, but just be discreet, as you know, it will be your reputation in the dirt and not mine!  
Now excuse and have a good night"

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled throwing her jewelry on him

Christopher ignored his wife's outburst. He knew she'd go bitchy about it. He knew she'd go bitchy tomorrow. And the days after tomorrow. He was already ready for that. He just didn't care anymore. After losing Angelique, he had lost everything.

Now he only had the child Katarina was expecting. That was the only thing he cared about.

Although, there would still have a long path until his life could make some sense again when the child will be born.

So far… Katarina could go bitchy whenever she wanted. She should've known it better…

That was the sumptuous start of their married life…

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **So the transition starts now. The first transition of time.**

 **We have seen everyone's side in the story about the same matter. Each one has their own truth. The wheel of time continues turning.  
They made their choices, or some have been forced to... but it's done!**

 **But what goes around comes around and that's a fact.**

 **Thank you for reading so far, for the support and for those who also reads my other works. Thank you!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Stay Tuned...**


	18. Déja Vu

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. Some OC's and story background belong to me.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Hints of Sexual Language**

* * *

 **21st Century, 2010**

 **Bohma**

It was an April Friday in 2010 when I returned to Bohma once again. Strangely, that place captivated me. Being there caused all types of sensations and some of them so familiar. How could it be so familiar to be in a place I have never been before? It felt like I was home.

Since I visited Bohma, I started having weird dreams. Sometimes it was often and full of details, other times scary and waking me up tormented. Other times I felt an intense sadness. The dreams I started having after visiting Bohma seemed somehow to have connection with the dreams I used to have before moving to Edonia.

Now, 8 months after my first visit, I return to continue my search…whatever I am searching…

.

.

Angelina left the train to a new location she hadn't been before, the Museum of Art of Bohma. Strangely, she felt energized there. She moved slowly, looking attentively to all the paintings on the walls. Nature, abstract, people. All kinds of works. She was mesmerized there. Bohma did have good artists!

She walked to another session. At the entrance she spotted an old man sitting on the reception. Apparently, that area seemed to be private.

"Good morning" he greeted her with an inviting smile

"Good morning" she replied with a light smile

"May I help you?"

"I don't know… I was seeing the paintings and this session got my attention since it's separated from the main works in exhibition… So I thought there would have more works here…" she spoke a bit embarrassed for looking somewhat nosy or too curious

"It's because there is the current exhibition session. Recent works and this session is the actual museum entrance. The session where you can go on an adventure to the past of Bohma through personal belongings, diaries, registers, portraits and paintings of actual people and the most notorious figures who lived through centuries of the town"

"Really?" she asked noticing the session was actually empty, a detail that got her attention but she kept it with herself

"Yes, would you like to go back to the past?" he asked with an inviting tone

Of course she wanted! She didn't to separate from the other crowd for nothing besides her natural curious nature.

"How much do I have to pay?" she asked taking her purse

"Nothing."

"Isn't this a private area?" she asked looking to the sides

"No… it's just that some people believe this session is haunted" he spoke with a serious face

"Haunted?"

"Yes"

"You're kidding, right?" she asked making face

The old man laughed, "Of course I am! No one enters a place they actually fear…well, some do…"

She laughed. An old man with good sense of humor. She liked that.

The old man took the lead and told the history of Bohma. A story he knew by heart. A history that seemed to ignite in him a passion, pride. Love for his nation. Gratefulness for being the owner of the museum and an important and influent figure in Bohma.

An instant friendship was born between the old man and the young redhead woman who listened attentively to everything and knowledge the man shared with her. All the details that were unknown by the majority of the population.

He made her feel good and welcomed, as if he was even a good relative of hers. A crazy thought she had, of course! That was impossible! They came from different countries and had no relation through genealogy. Although she really did feel like she knew him all her life and that didn't seem to have an explanation.

Listening to his history and of his family's made her open up about a few things that had led her to her current adventure.

"So you are a painter?" he asked as he offered her a glass of coffee

"Yes… a painter with a huge block of creativity"

"What kind of block?"

"I don't even know how to explain… all I know it's been nearly two years all I could do was to work in a single work… I have only painted a specific scenery… as if I'm stuck there and all I can think is of the lake…"

"A lake?" he asked intrigued as he took a sip of his coffee

"Yes, a lake…a specific lake"

"What lake is that?"

She let out a long sigh, "That's the problem… I don't know! I have no idea what like is that or where I have seen it… so my frustration started… and I don't seem to be capable to create anything else but the lake"

"Are you sure you haven't seen it anywhere else? You told me you have travelled to several countries…maybe your memory kept it somehow…"

"No! I'm sure I have never seen such location… it's too specific for me not to remember where I have seen it. I have photographic memory and I don't forget what I see"

The man made a face. A thoughtful face, "A lake…"

"Yes, a lake… with trees and mountains around…"

He lifted his eyebrows as if in realization, "Please, follow me" he spoke with a mysterious behavior leading the redhead to a reserved area where more paintings were distributed and kept hidden from the public

Angelina's heart raced inside her chest as a weird sensation seemed to press her body.

The man searched the paintings repeating the word lake several times, which intrigued the young woman whom started not to have a good feeling to be in there.

"Here… Lake House" he spoke lifting a painting from the pile, "Does your lake have some resemblance with this one?" he asked showing her the painting

Her body trembled. Her legs weakened. The young woman's reaction got the old man in concern as she fell on the ground in sobs and trying to catch her breath. The old man didn't know how to help her as she convulsed in tears. A complete strange reaction for such a pretty lady.

"Is this the lake you see?"

She nodded in confirmation.

* * *

 **Bohma, May 2010**

Chris and Angelina separated from Piers and Mr. Lionel. The soldier and the artist stood before the painting of the Lake House. An unconscious act.

"Thank you for coming Chris. I didn't know you're a man of arts and I had doubts that you'd come…"

He smiled, "I gave you my word that I'd pass by… unless I was on field for a longer time"

"Yes, I know. I'm glad you came and even brought Piers with you. How funny!" She grinned

He laughed, "Yeah, I think it's good learning and knowing new things. Piers and I had a great history lesson and I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity to see you again…" he cleared his throat, "safe and sound!" he added

She passed her hand on her hair and smiled, "Yes that's true. Even I had history lessons from Mr. O'Reed. He's such a genuine soul"

"Yes, he is"

They exchanged gazes, staying in silence for a few seconds.

"When will you return to the USA?" she asked casually

"Tomorrow… unfortunately"

"Yeah, too bad… I thought you would enjoy the story telling of Mr. Lionel"

"Is there more to tell?" he said

"Yes, there is! Especially in the private area where there are incomplete works of paintings of Angelique."

"Incomplete works?"

"Yes. Mr. Lionel said there are missing paintings and diaries from her. Some people say it's lost because of the time, others say that it's because of Katarina who might have destroyed it"

Chris frowned thoughtful. Flash memories of dreams, "Or maybe they didn't look in the right place…" he spoke vaguely

Angelina looked at him as if studying him. Keeping all his details in her privileged memory.

"So now we have to say goodbye, huh?" she spoke playing with her hands

"It doesn't mean we can't meet again. I come often to Europe or maybe if one day you come to the USA, we can see each other…"

"Do you really want to see me again?"

"Absolutely!"

She smiled, "I'm glad to hear that… I really liked you and I'll be forever grateful for your help, so I guess we can make the encounter happen soon…"

"Surely we will! You know where to find me…" he smiled back

The couple remained staring each other for some time. In front of the Lake painting. A meaningful moment. A meaningful painting frozen in the sand of the time. And time was working on their next steps, their next actions. They knew for only a day, but it felt like ages they had met. It was mutual…

Suddenly, Angelina looked to the side and smiled to the man who greeted her with a quick kiss on her lips.

Chris inevitably swallowed and looked away unconsciously. Bothered.

"Chris this is my boyfriend George. George this is Chris, my savior"

The men exchanged gazes and shook grips. Mutual sparkles of jealous.

* * *

 **17th Century**

 **Arthena, Reed-O'Gregon Palace**

"It's a girl. A healthy girl" announced the midwife to Christopher who waited outside the chamber

He smiled, "A girl!"

"Yes and she will be a tall one. Might have taken from you" she commented

"What do you mean?"

"She's big for a premature. She surely will be a strong girl"

He lifted his eyebrows not knowing what to say

"But there's something you need to know…" the woman spoke hesitantly

"What do I need to know?"

"Your wife… she shows signs of being rejecting the child… it happens in some cases…"

He frowned, "What? And is there a cure for that?"

"In some cases yes."

"What is exactly the symptoms she's presenting?"

"She didn't want to hold the child, not even see and she was determined in saying she wouldn't nurse it… she refers to the child as a thing and not as a being or her own flesh. Now I'm going to get a wet nurse to your daughter"

Christopher entered the chamber where Katarina was lying on the bed, resting and Elizabeth took care of the newborn. The proud aunt was thrilled and nursed the baby with a nursing bottle.

"Congratulations, daddy!" she spoke smiling as she introduced the baby for her brother-in-law.

He looked at her. She was perfect and strong. Big for a premature as the midwife had commented, still, she made him smile. Instantly a strong wave of feelings grew in him as he took the baby in his arms. Tiny for his size. Tiny for his arms. That was alright. He felt good and weird holding her. Insecure. He had no idea how to be a father and tried to prepare himself as much as he could during the pregnancy. The change of life started now. The nights in awake. The little girl's needs. No matter how much help they had from midwives, nurses and Elizabeth who was constantly helping with the baby as if she was her own. They even shared resemblance as Madeline, that was the name he chosen for the child as Katarina refused to name her and didn't really care about her own daughter.

Madeline was born blonde and blue-eyed, well, all babies are born with blue eyes. Although, she had icy-blue eyes and as she grown, her eyes remained blue. Surprisingly she was a good baby. She didn't use to cry that often and had an intense charisma. Everybody loved Madeline except her own mother.

"She's so beautiful!" said Clairy, Christopher's cousin, with a large smile as she caressed the infant, "But she took more from the mother's side, isn't it?" she commented regretting immediately

Christopher let out a sigh and nodded slightly in confirmation

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

He interrupted her, "It's alright. I used to think about it everyday… until I stopped searching for any trace of mine and just welcomed her with my heart…"

"You think it's possible that she's not yours?"

He smirked, "Look at her. Look at me!"

"Babies sometimes don't look like with the parents…"

"Newborns, not babies of her age!"

Clairy gave a shrug not knowing what to say and just looked at the infant who played with her finger

"I don't care about it anymore. She captivated me the moment my eyes laid on her and that's what matters to me… she could be Pierce's or anyone else's… but now she's mine. She has my last name. she's part of my family and it hurts me that her crazy mother doesn't share the same feelings I do even by sharing the same blood…"

"Does she still treat her bad?"

"Yes… that's why I stay around… to protect her" he said looking at the blonde-baby

"For how long will you continue living that way? You know you can divorce Katarina for her lie. That can annul the marriage…"

He let out a sad sigh, "I don't have any reason to do that with Katarina… at least, not anymore…"

"Angelique?" she exclaimed

He nodded, "If there was a way to bring my Angely or to go back in time, then yes, I would take Maddy with me and then expose Katarina without even care about her fate in prison… but that's not the case… Destiny didn't want me to be with Angely, but in exchange gave me Maddy…. to protect her and in the other hand she's my company now… the good thing that entered my life and now the only purpose I have…"

"I don't like seeing you so down"

"I will survive and be alright. Don't worry"

"Still hurts me… I wish I had met Angelique, but I believe she will watch out for you and if I were her, I'd want you to try to be happy"

"Maddy makes me happy"

With that statement, Clairy remained in silence and played with the infant who smiled to her gracefully, "She's so lovely! She's lucky in having a daddy like you!" she commented

"And I'm proud to be her father!" he spoke kneeling next to her and caressed the baby's forehead who let out a loud laugh as if enjoying his touch

"Soon Maddy will be grown up enough to play with my own children and that way she won't feel so lonely..."

"Yeah you're right… because if it depends on me I will not give her siblings"

"You really don't think of having children?"

"I did want children with Angely... With Katarina is quite unlikely as I a long time ago… are you still punishing her?"

He smirked, "What if I am?"

She grinned, "So there's still some connection from your side too…"

He let out a heavy sigh, "It's complicated…I don't know what I feel for her"

"Why don't you give it a try? Maybe there's still a chance for you to be 'happy' with her and build something solid with her"

"I don't know Clair…I don't trust her… after all she has done to men… to Pierce, the one she promised love and marriage, then she threw him away just like an old piece of cloth…what guarantees me she won't do the same with me?"

"So you're playing her game… by not giving her what she wants and keeping the distance, you know she keeps interested…as if two sides of the same coin"

"I don't take it as a game. I have reasons to keep her distant and is not only because of her male history… but its still too recent my loss"

"You have to let her go and repeat myself, I really believe she'd want you to move on and try to be happy…at least try it! you are already tied to Katarina, why continue making your life miserable at her side when it could be just the opposite?"

He remained thoughtful, "So you really think Katarina has some real feeling for me and is not just taking me as her prize?"

She gave a shrug, "You'll only know if you give it a try…and if she does, then you can punish her harder"

He laughed

"My heart-brother… I know it is hard to believe that you can love someone else after losing someone you loved… but don't give up. You still have a long life ahead and I think it will be somewhat easier to reinvent yourself on that matter when you still have some attraction for your wife"

He frowned biting his lips reflecting. Then he took Madeline in his arms. Both smile for each other, which melted his heart. Maybe he could do that for his little princess. She deserved to have somewhat of a family. Not to mention that divorce wouldn't be so simple. For her he could try harder. In fact, for her he had said yes before god.

However, only time could tell when he'd be capable of opening some space in his heart for Katarina O'Gregon.

* * *

 **Green Hills,** **Neighborship of Bohma**

" _The time flew after that day… that fatidic day.  
Somehow, all the bad things I passed since I ran away with Christopher, served to open my eyes. Made stronger and less of a fool.  
I cried – a lot – a couple of days later when the realization came to me and my current condition at the time.  
I realized that dreams didn't come true. Dreams are just dreams and sometimes a pathetic way to lead on someone or yourself.  
I learned that it's better having goals and not dreams because when you have goals, you have a more solid ground to work on. Dreams are just clouds.  
And I needed to learn that… that difference. My life wasn't going to be just about me anymore. Everything I knew had changed and fierce side of mine that I always contended, progressively became stronger with the adversities I lived when I met the father of my child.  
I grew up so much in a fraction of months, but I never regretted anything.  
It was good living a pink cloud for some time. It was good to believe in a fairy-tale. It was, in fact, good to live the fairy-tale.  
But fairy-tales are just what they are… fairy-tales.  
I lost Christopher… well… I guess I never had him…  
However, he was mine for some time and he concluded his mission in passing by my life. He made me a woman – and not just sexually speaking – but he removed that pink veil that covered my eyes.  
I'm not bubbly anymore – and sometimes I miss that part of me – but I got other things in return. I got friends – Maggy and George – who treat me like a member of their family. Maggy even treats me as the daughter she never had!  
and more importantly… I have a son!  
I'm braver now and for him I face the world!  
I don't care when people talk shit for me being a single mother anymore.  
I didn't commit any crime! I'm not a liar! Much less a sinner!  
I'm a woman who loved…  
I'm a mother.  
No shame in becoming a grown up.  
Oliver is my goal!_"

It was late at night, Angelique woke up with the sounds of voices at a distance. One of the voices was of her six month son, Oliver, who seemed to be laughing at something. She walked until his nursery.

"George?" she spoke in a low tone

"Hey Angely"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is alright. I'm sorry if I woke you up"

"It's alright… it's just my maternal instinct to get up when I hear Oliver's sounds"

He smiled in agreement, "I couldn't sleep and I noticed he was awake so I came to check on him. So I changed his diapers and fed. Now we were playing a little"

"Ah George… you always taking care of him. I don't even know how to thank you for always being with him and your mother for having done everything for us…"

"It's been a year since we met, huh?"

"Yeah, time flies…"

"One year that so much changed…" he commented with a brief saddened look

Angelique looked at him and placed her hand on his shoulder in support. She knew he still suffered for the sudden loss of his wife three months prior. Since then, he left the manor he lived and returned to his mother's to spend some time and start over.

"You and Oliver are the good thing that happened to us. You don't have to thank us… actually it's us who have to thank you for entering our lives" he smiled heartily

She smiled back

"By the way, did you think on that matter I proposed to you?"

Angelique looked away in distress. She never expected anyone to propose such a thing for her. Much less someone she barely knew.

"I did think several times, but I cannot accept that George. We're not your responsibility…"

"It's not about being my responsibility, but it's a way to give a better future for Olly"

"I know George and I thank you from the bottom of my heart your good intentions to give your name to him, but I cannot accept that. No shame in being a single mother… in addition, Olly has father that chose not being by his side."

"With all the respect, Christopher doesn't deserve Olly! He chose his other family"

"I know and I didn't forgive him for that! It's super normal growing up without the father, I myself am a product of that! But I won't take that option from Olly if he ever wants to meet Christopher, but it will be Olly's choice and not something I will impose to him. I will always be sincere with him about his routes. I will not raise Oliver in favor or against his father, I cannot be that unfair to him… So thank you for trying to fill the space Christopher left. It shows you're not like random men…"

"You can always count on me Angely! We know for only one year but it feels like we know forever. So I'll respect your decision, but don't expect me to let go of Olly… he's like the son I didn't have…"

She exhaled in contemplation, "You really have taken care of him like a father, instead of a little brother… when your mom sees me as her daughter…"

"I cannot see you as a sister"

Angelique blushed and cleared her throat in distress. George firstly proposed to give his name to Oliver, to register him. He didn't proposed to marry her. He had never demonstrated any other feeling or intention for her… until now.

She wasn't sure if he had really flirted her, but one thing she knew for sure. She wasn't ready to love again. She still had several tiny broken pieces of her heart to collect. To believe again. To trust again. To heal. Maybe she'd believe in love again. Maybe not. Only time could tell what other choices she'd make. Her priority for the time being was being a mother and only a mother to her beloved son Oliver Stafford Reed.

.

.

She still used Christopher's last name. Mainly in her work as her pseudo-name Angely Reed.

* * *

 **Arthena, Reed-O'Gregon Palace**

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth? Can someone shut this child up!" Katarina shouted angrily in the corridor as she heard her eight-month daughter crying in her nursery, "Dammit, where is everyone in this fucking place!" she continued screaming walking the corridors calling for the servants

Elizabeth and Pierce were in her bedchamber. Elizabeth was nearly desperate to go on the child's aid, "I need to go there, Pierce!"

"No, you have to rest! Doctor's orders" he spoke stopping her as she was recovering from another miscarriage

"I can't let Maddy crying like that. I fear Kat might hurt her…"

"Katarina won't hurt her! I will aid Maddy… even though I'm so against it. Katarina is the mother! She hadn't taken her responsibility since Maddy was born! I still think she's just using that as an excuse to not obey with her duty."

"Whatever Pierce… Just take Maddy here as we are her godparents"

Vexed, Pierce let out a heavy sigh. Madeline was the closest to a child they had so far as they had difficulties in bearing a child of their own. He was against Katarina's behavior as a mother, although he was also against Christopher's reactions towards his wife in not imposing her limits as he should. After all, he was the man and head of the family.

"Ah, there you are!" she smirked as she spotted Pierce in the hallway, "Where's Elizabeth?" she spoke with an authoritative tone

"Resting"

"I do want to rest too, but the child will not stop crying!"

"Make her stop. You're the mother!"

"I pay you to take care of her!"

"Yeah, you even offered her to us… or anyone who wants her… so why did you get pregnant in the first place? Babies and children make noises and demand attention! If you didn't want to deal with that, you should've had used protection as you always did!" he smirked, "I'm glad we didn't have a child… But even if we had had, I'd never act like Christopher does to you and be so soft…"

"Who do you think you are to speak to me that way? Being my ex-affair does not give you rights on speaking to me that way! Christopher understands me…something you apparently do not! So I am more than glad for not had borne any child of yours! Some things makes more sense later!" she spoke bitterly

"Yeah, you bet that!" he replied bitterly

"In fact, I even have doubts that you are capable of that!" she added mischievously

Pierce closed his fists and let out an angry sigh. She really meant to be mean with him. Mean… that was what she had become towards him since he married Elizabeth.

"So that proves that the child once you said you had carried was mine, probably wasn't, huh? So I wonder even more about Maddy…" he replied in her same level and insulted her back

"Damn you!" she replied hurrying towards him with her hand up to slap him

"What the hell is going on here?"

They looked back to see Christopher loud voice, "How long will Maddy wait until someone responsible go take her?" he added

Katarina scratched her hair in disguise

"Should be the mother…" Pierce replied walking away without waiting for anyone's response and headed to the child's nursery

"You returned home so early…" Katarina broke the ice

"Surprised?"

"Yes I am… You usually take longer in the campaigns…"

"I got a new task"

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"Have you been promoted or something?"

"Yes I did and that's why I allowed Pierce to watch Maddy for the last time"

"For the last time?" she spoke puzzled

"Pierce is right when he says her mother should be a mother! He's right when he says I'm too soft on you"

She couldn't help the giggle in the latest part.

"Is this funny to you?"

"Yes it is… you speak as if you are perfect, flawless and as the best example to be followed…"

"I'm a good father! I have tried to be the best example for Maddy as a father!"

"Just as a father…" she shrugged rolling her eyes, "And guardian…" she added

"What about you? No longer the cool presence, no more radiant like a lullaby… Now all bitter, hideous mother, unpleasant company…"

"Thanks to you!" she replied coldly

"Me?" he raised his eyebrows

She nodded in confirmation, "You are not perfect when you suck as a husband!"

He gasped

"I can smell the other women on you even after you bath. I look radiant when we walk in public but still smile when it happens to encounter the whores I share you. I pose as radiant even when they laugh at me discreetly or not. I speak as a highly lullaby when I have to use my influence in your favor while I live a hell at home because you do not fulfill your duty as a man! A husband!"

He smirked biting his lips as he inhaled to keep his composure. Tired of Katarina's misbehaviors with Madeline, Christopher gave an ultimatum to his wife.

"I married you because of the pregnancy, the child is now born. No need for us to continue living this hell!"

"You created the hell! You want me to be a mother but you do not act as a husband! I need a husband! I need to be loved! To feel love! The love you refuse to give to me since we said yes! How can I love this stupid child when I am not loved either!"

"It's not a stupid child, she is Your Daughter!" he shouted

She bit her lips, "She is your daughter too…" she spoke in a lower tone almost failing her voice

"She is your blood, your flesh! She is just a baby, demands attention. Attention you don't give! I do act as her father but you? You even offered her to Elizabeth!"

"Elizabeth is not bearing children… she loves the child…"

"Or you change your behavior with her or I take her with me and leave the palace and consider yourself divorced!"

"What? Are you bargaining with me?"

"I'm giving you the last chance Katarina!" he spoke with firmness, "Different of you, I take responsibilities for my actions! So I tell you one last time… Or you change or I leave!" he spoke shutting the doors

Katarina wouldn't let that way and followed him, "Hypocrite!" she yelled

Christopher looked back

"You are not that perfection you say you are! You think you take responsibilities for your actions, but you do not! You treat me worse than the whores you bed out there!"

He rolled his eyes

"You treat me like trash! You married me but you do not take the responsibility of a husband!"

"You have all the permission to have your adventures… that's the first thing I told you when we married!"

"I do not want adventures. I want you! My man! But I cannot compete with your memory, with a ghost!"

He looked attentively at her

"If your so beloved Angelique loved you so much, I am sure that wherever she is she would want you to be happy! And you are not! You still live your misery and bring all of us into it! I am tired of this! But the same way you give me a last chance, I ask you only one chance! A chance to show you I can be a good wife, a good mother, to make you happy!" she knelt close to him, "Please, just one chance! For Madeline and for all the children we will have…"

"Madeline is our daughter, isn't she?"

"Yes… of course… but I meant other children… boys… or girls… whatever God sends us!"

"So why you mistreat a part of me?"

"Because I am a fool! A stupid idiot!"

Christopher passed his hands on his hair. Confused.

"What happened? We were not like this back in the days! Where is your fire?"

"You're not in position to demand anything from me"

"I am not demanding… I am asking you. Begging for you! What have I done to deserve your punishment besides Maddy? It does not make any sense to me…"

"it's useless explaining my reasons when they're vain to you that you no longer remember…" he spoke giving her his back

"Coward!"

He ignored her comment and continued walking

"You're not the man you think you are! Whatever I have done or said, seems like I was right!" she smirked

He let out an angry sigh and turned back and pushed her to the wall, "You want a man?" he asked pressing her against the wall staring deep into her eyes

She could see the anger, the fire in his eyes. She longed for that. She was finally reaching the spot, "Be a man!"

"You're no longer the seductress you used to be…" he said releasing her

She opened her robe, letting it fall to the ground and revealing her naked body without even care if anyone could spot them in the hallway, "You want to punish me. Punish me. I know you are still angry with me… But do it the right way!"

"I'm not that kind of man"

She laughed, "That is not how I recall the best memory I have of us…in the tavern. Your jealous… the words I spoke…then you showed me the man you can be!" she spoke seductively as she rubbed herself against his body, as if covering herself on him at the same time she provoked him. His libido.

The day in the tavern. He so wished to forget that. She released the beast in him.

"I do not want lovey-dovey. Never did!" she bit his earlobe and licked his neck as her hands worked his pants

"My whore…" he whispered

"Yes, your classy whore!" she said pulling him to her and kissed him fiery. Forcing her tongue into his mouth as her arms rolled his neck and she lifted her right leg to his waist allowing his member to feel her folds, "Coward!" she whispered deep in his ear

That moment he used his forearm on her neck, pressing her tight against the wall without care if she could breath or not, "You want a man. I'll show you the man" he said releasing her and pulling her abruptly by the arm and leading her to a vacant bedchamber, locking the doors. Fastening her.

.

.

That's what Katarina O'Gregon liked. Searched. A sadomasochist sex with a good and handsome man who was good and a beast at the same time. A combination that was not so easy to find. Love and pain were synonyms in her dictionary. She loved and longed the marks he left on her skin.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **LOL, I don't know if Sadomasochist word existed in those days xD If it existed or not, at least I made myself clear xD**

 **So the chapter got really long! And I had already divided in 3, lol! But at least I could work better in the details I thought were important to be worked and will define the future of the story.**

 **I want to thank everyone who are reading my work and has been with me all this long!**

 **Stay tuned!**


	19. Chapter 19

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Reed-O'Gregon Palace**

"So the day we say goodbye has finally arrived…" Elizabeth spoke with a saddened tone

"You can visit me whenever you want. It will be your home too!" Katarina replied

The blonde woman smiled softly, "I wish I could go with you and be your support somehow… But Pierce has to stay…"

"I know and I really wish you could come with me, my little sister. This is the second time we will stay separated for a long time, but life is what it is… We are no longer the bachelorettes and have our obligations with our husbands" the older O'Gregon replied caressing her sister's cheek

"I'll miss Maddy. I thought I'd be with her for her first birthday"

"She will miss you too and you are already invited for the celebration on her birthdate!"

The blonde looked down with a faint smile. She had a strong bond with her niece. Madeline was the closest feeling to motherhood she had as she couldn't conceive her own child with her husband Pierce. Something, somewhat unfair as Katarina never dreamt of a family and got easily pregnant twice according to her math as she said she had already carried Pierce's child but lost it in early stages and now she was the mother of Madeline, the result of a quick conception within the few months since Christopher's return. While she who always dreamt of marriage and a big family didn't have the same luck.

Life seemed unfair sometimes. Katarina didn't like her own daughter that much and Elizabeth loved Madeline like her own daughter. Why things had to be that way? So opposite and full of contrasts. Elizabeth was worried about the little girl and how Katarina would treat her in the absence of Christopher, the father who loved her immensely as she did… But he was the father, right? He should love his child.

And last but not least, her sister and mentor's future at the side of Christopher. Everyone knew Christopher didn't love his wife and whenever he could he made sure to show that in the often arguments they had. Despite being a good-hearted man, Christopher was temperamental at times. Not that it was his entirely fault, Katarina seemed to provoke that on him. Both were strong-willed and stubborn. Katarina seemed to enjoy teasing his demon despite the sequels. Christopher ended up remorse after his explosions and Katarina laughed at the situation. Elizabeth would never forget the bruises on the brunette's skin after the last fight they had when Christopher threatened to leave with Madeline. Katarina was in a bliss while Elizabeth was horrified. However things seemed to get calmer between them after that, and since then Katarina started being a better mother and the smiles returned to her face and so did her good mood.

"How are things between you and Christopher?"

"We are working on things. You do not have to worry"

"I can't help getting worried. You're my sister…the bruises…"

Katarina smiled and pulled her beloved sister to her into a warm embrace, "Thank you for your concern and everything you did for me… I will be alright and forget the bruises, it was not what you think…"

"But it was worse than the first time…"

"Eliza, cut the drama! It was not so bad the way you are saying! It was just few marks on specific regions…" Katarina spoke starting to laugh, "My little lovely sister… so sweet, so pure! There are things that you have no knowledge and I know it is scary for you to see the results, but please do not think Christopher is a bad man, he is not!"

"He beat you…"

Katarina inhaled deeply, "Slapped, not spanked… those are different things. He has strong hands and I have clear skin… So please… It Is NOT what you are thinking!"

Elizabeth made a face. She didn't know what to say. Better leave things that way. Maybe there were very good reasons for Christopher had treated Katarina that way and in those times, men were permitted to punish the wives and women any way they wanted.

.

.

We are finally leaving this place. I could not stand the imminent threat anymore. The threat called: Vladimir!  
In the end… I did end up marrying a Duke, huh! The Duke of Baveen. I am the Duchess of Baveen! I so deserve this title!  
I could so had been a Princess or even a Queen if I wanted. But I do not have the competence to play by the others' rules. Much less play by the rules of an old-fashioned man!  
My father has no complaints anymore… Well he has no power over me either in a long time!  
Though he should be proud, I am a duchess now and his prestige has increased!  
Everything is somewhat running as I planned.  
Christopher said that he is willing to start over new in the new place and make our marriage work…Even if it includes to treat well that stupid child!  
And I will make sure to be the best wife he could ever have because it is how they say 'Behind a great man there is a great woman!'… I should say by his side.  
I have big plans!  
More than never I am where I should have been long ago!  
I am Katarina Reed O'Gregon…Baveen is just the start!

(*)

 _In the aftermath of the Battle of Arthena, Christopher Reed served as Warden of the Bohman Marches, and in the campaign the Bohman force under Prince Charles, was supported by a fleet, which Reed commanded. Reed joined the land force that destroyed Edin, after he had blown the main gate apart with a culverin. In early 18_ _th_ _, the king of Bohma died and his son Charles succeeded him. King Charles entitled Christopher as a Duke and appointed him as the Governor of Baveen._

 _As a Governor, his tasks were to rebuild the fortifications to King Charles' design and to fend off Edonian attacks by sea and land. As Lord Admiral, Reed was responsible for creating the Council for Marine Causes, which for the first time coordinated the various tasks of maintaining the navy functioning and thus made Bohman naval administration the most efficient in Europe._ _At sea, Reed's fighting orders were at the forefront of tactical thinking: Squadrons of ships, ordered by size and firepower, were to maneuver in formation, using coordinated gunfire. These were all new developments in the Bohman navy._

 _Reed was not an old-style peer, despite his aristocratic ancestry and existence as a great lord. He acquired, sold, and exchanged lands, but never strove to build himself a territorial power base or a large armed force of retainers. Christopher Reed was a typical Crown servant, self-interested but absolutely loyal to the incumbent sovereign: The monarch's every wish was law._

* * *

 **Green Hills, Bohma**

Maggy and Angelique were returning home after the end of their shift in the shop. They walked the streets talking about the 2-year birthday party of Oliver the next weekend.

"I can't believe he's turning two so quickly, that little rascal!" the older woman spoke smiling hearing children laughter from inside her home and opened the door

"Yeah, tell me about it!" Angelique smiled too as she watched George playing with her redhead toddler.

That was part of her daily routine since she moved in with the Talbot's. with them, she had finally had the opportunity to know how it felt like to live with a family. A good family.

Maggy reminded her of her grandmother, a good-hearted woman and optimistic, and simple. Her other married sons did pay her a visit at times along their children and wives. But George, a widower, resembled more to his mother and not only in his looks, but as big-hearted as his mother.

It was part of her routine to watch Oliver bonding with George and Maggy. He even called the woman "granny". She loved it!

And George? Well… he always took care of him like his own son, with respect and discipline, and always kindly and loving. He was an amorous man. He didn't have the muscular body shape Christopher had, not even his looks. George had an average beauty and body shape. White skin and brown eyes and hair. A family man.

Angelique was aware of his feelings for her and Maggy loved the idea of them getting married, although she respected Angelique's decision to keep away from love. Maggy didn't force any situation between them, while George understood Angelique's rejection.

Everything was going all right until the day, out of the blue, while George was playing with Oliver, the little boy said those words:

"What did you say?"

"Papa"

The man couldn't help his thrill. He didn't teach that to Oliver. No one did. It came natural from him. He melted.

Angelique was now in a crossroads. How would she deal with the twist in her son's head? George was not his biological father. Oliver had Christopher's blood, Christopher's temperament.  
Time was passing, very quickly for her tastes! Her son was growing and relating to George, but he deserved the truth. The truth of his origins. How would he deal with the truth that his biological father had abandoned them?  
As a mother, she didn't want him to suffer, but he deserved the truth. She owed him the truth. Obviously, it would be easier to just cover it up with her accepting George's proposal to give Oliver his name, or maybe she could marry him and act like he was Oliver's father. Somehow he was… but it wasn't his blood in the redhead's veins. She even had named him after Christopher's father.

Since that day, Angelique spent most of her time in silence, thoughtful. The green eyed and redhead boy was a Reed…too.

"My darling, you are so distant lately…" Maggy commented during a break while they were in the shop

Angelique let out a sigh, "I'm just thinking…"

"Been thinking too much"

"It's an important matter"

"Can you share it with me or…?"

"It's about Olly…"

The older woman inhaled making a face, somehow guessing the situation, "You don't like that he sees my son as his father?"

"It's not that I don't like…"

"But?"

"But I know that in my moment of anger and disappointment I had promised that Christopher would never know about us. it was easy to say it when my son was inside me and I could protect him and "hide" him from the world…" she made a pause looking distantly, "But I can't hide from the truth forever… it's not just about me… for me I still keep my promise but Olly… Olly didn't make that promise…"

"So let him decide"

"But for that Christopher needs to know…" she inhaled deeply, "I don't think I can face him again! It still hurts! A lot!"

"I understand, but it's not about your pain, but the truth of Oliver… That's the paradigm of mothers. They do have their personal limitations, but for their children they find strenght and courage from unknown places… And you have to make that decision. Olly is growing fast and soon he will get in the phase of curiosity and ask you all types of questions. You have to be prepared… and boys…" the woman made a pause inhaling and letting out a long sigh, "Boys have a thing for their fathers…It's like they never lose connection even miles away… or in worlds apart…" she added with a vague tone

Angelique reflected on the woman's words and wisdom she acquired from life.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Some Time Later**

 **Kitchen**

"This place is so scary when the king and his family are not here" a female servant commented

"Or the other noble people" another servant agreed

"The king might come in a few weeks and his cousin's family is coming tomorrow…but I particularly like the emptier place" Pierce commented as he took a bite of the bread

"Not scared of ghosts?" the servant asked

He laughed, "Ghosts?"

That moment a guardian entered the kitchen

"Northman"

"Yes"

"Come to the gate"

"What happened?"

"There's a woman. She's looking for you"

The royal knight headed to the gate and at distance spotted the redhead woman standing, alone, playing with her hands.

"Good morning" he greeted her politely

"Good morning, are you Mr. Pierce Northman?" she asked a bit awkward

"Yes, this is me. Who are you?"

She bit her lips, "I'm a - friend - of Christopher… Is he there?" she spoke hesitant

Pierce lifted an eyebrow grinning, "A friend?"

"Yes, a friend… May I speak with him?"

"Hum, I'm sorry but you cannot…"

"Why?"

"Because Christopher doesn't reside here anymore. He was relocated to another province"

Angelique let out a disappointed sigh and thanked for the information. Under apprehension, her brain couldn't really process things not even work properly as she had forgotten to ask where. Destiny seemed to be showing her the answer. They weren't meant to be. Olly was only hers, and perhaps a fruit of a distant dream. Fruit of a distant illusion.

Pierce watched the redhead woman disappear in the streets among the crowd of the commerce. He considered telling her where to find Christopher, but she didn't ask. And he thought of Katarina and Christopher. The couple lived a good phase of their marriage and were even expecting another child. Pierce didn't want to ruin what Katarina had fought so much for as he had a feeling that the redhead woman had been some adventure of Christopher's.

(**)

" _Five years have passed since I married Katarina. Since I have been in the Lake Manor. Since I have been in the land of broken dreams. The land where I had set a plan of a beautiful dream. A bright dream. Of a family, children, a simple cottage, with the woman I most loved in my life, my angel, my Angely._

 _It's been five years since all those dreams has become dust. Dust in the wind. The cottage I started building is now a bunch of dirt and…, slowly being destroyed by the force of the time. Turning into ruins. Taking away the bright future. Burying the past and its memories._

 _But I did have a good 'future', which now is my present and my past. The bright 'future' has become a bright past. The best months of my entire life._

 _It's not like I reject my life as it is now. It's just not so bright like I wished for. Like I had envisioned. Like I had dreamed._

 _I do have a home, a nice home. A wife and beautiful children. Katarina gave me three beautiful children, two girls and one boy. My three precious jewelries. Katarina has proved to be a good wife. We have_ _enjoyed a reasonably happiness accord with periods of calm and affection. Katarina's sharp intelligence, political acumen and forward manners_ _make her unique. She runs our home and some political affairs in defense and progress of women mostly. But nothing is so simple like I dreamed. There's nothing simple in my life._

 _I have status and a high position in the kingdom, only below the King's family. Although, for some villagers I have more appreciation than the king himself. Nothing of that really captivates me. All I care is to secure a good place and future for my children, for the people and for the ones who have supported me all the long._

 _I try to be the best husband I can. I try to be the best servant I can. I try to be the best father I can. I try to be the best friend I can. I try to be the best fighter I can._

 _Life isn't any simple… life isn't bright._

 _I miss my angel. My sweet Angely. She lighted my days. But the soon she entered my life. The sooner she left…_

 _I feel like we didn't have time. We didn't have enough time together. We couldn't be a family._

 _Sometimes, when I'm alone, like now, I so miss the lake days. Her smile and purity. Her shyness and kindness. Her gracious bravery. Her blushes. Her angelic voice when she sang. Her nurture. Her energy. Her talent. Her presence. Her simplicity. Her love._

 _She loved the stars and the moon. She loved the animals, the flowers, and the nature. She loved the colors. She loved the lake. She so loved that lake!_

 _And so do I!_

 _We were bright together when everything was darkness around us._

 _This is the first time I could return to where it all began and has gone. Now this ruined land is legally mine. Privately mine. All that's left of it…_

 _The fireplace seems to be the only intact thing, but I'm sure the wind of time will take it away someday and vanish all the almost memories until nothing is left but the sand._

 _My treasure._

 _Our Treasure._

 _The ruins of a broken dream…"_

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, Airplane**

"I can't believe that! When you finally found someone that interested you, she ends up married!" Piers spoke trying not to laugh, "And dragged me to art thing..." He added

"She's not married!" Chris spoke with a single tone, "And you had fun...with Katarina" he stated the obvious

"Sorry, committed. Correction… I enjoyed the art history the old man told. Katarina was just the beautiful portrait to look at."

Chris exhaled looking to the window, "Still had fun... By the way. Is there a problem for you if I accepted the girl's invitation?"

"No, not at all… you liked her but you know... You're committed too…with work. So I guess you're even"

"It's all that's left for me. At least I'm not the man of several women…" Chris shrugged

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Chris smirked, "Come on! Does Sophie know you're flirting around with the new girl?"

"What?"

Chris grinned, "I may be committed to work, but I'm not blind! You and the receptionist? Don't fool me!"

Piers made a face, 'It's not like that! The receptionist is very sociable and full of smiles. A cool girl, but that's all. I don't flirt her! I do respect my girlfriend!"

"Right! You don't reject her advances either…" Chris teased him

"What advances?"

Chris grinned, "Don't play dumb with me. I saw you in the parking lot one of these days…"

Piers swallowed looking away

The day in the parking lot in the end of the shift. Katherine, the new receptionist, needed help with her car. Piers was on his way to his car when she asked for help. When he finished, she smiled largely and her beauty stunned him. Before his reflex could work, she thanked him with a hug and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

After that day. Piers walked a longer way to avoid meeting Katherine. Since the first day they met, he was strongly attracted for her. Her beauty and way to be captivated him. Since then, his relationship with Sophie Home seemed to get disrupted with the constant jealous behavior she presented. And since the day at the parking lot, Piers started having doubts if he should continue with Sophie – a good girl.

Chris Redfield laughed inwardly. He managed to take the focus from his personal life. That was a habit he became an expert. His personal life and disappointments wasn't anyone's business. Disappointment in the love field had become a natural thing for him. That didn't really matter anymore. He was used to his solitude.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **So the transition of years has finally happened. The destiny managed to keep Christopher and Angelique away with their memories. Both with different truths. But the final truth still was lingering in the time waiting for the right moment to be exposed.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have been enjoying this journey.**

 **Thank you for your time! :D**

 **Let me know your thoughts and...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	20. Times Present, Times Past

**21** **st** **Century**

 **New York, 2010  
**

It was raining and he didn't have an umbrella to protect himself. Not that he needed, after all, he was on his way home. 8:30AM Chris Redfield arrived in his apartment from the mission in Bohma. He put the bag on the armchair and let his wet clothes in the laundry area, and headed to his bedroom completely naked to take a quick shower.

"Oh my god!"

A blonde female screamed in scare and immediately covering her eyes after spotting the naked man as she left the bathroom letting the cleaning objects fall on the ground

"Sorry Liza! I…I didn't know you were home" Chris spoke apologetic covering his member with his hands and running to get a robe in the closet

"I didn't know you'd be back home today…" the woman replied still with her eyes covered, trembling in awkwardness

He giggled, "it's alright. You'll never know when I'll be home. Actually, not even me know when I'll be home. You can look now" he commented

"Yes, but usually I come on Mondays and Thursdays. Today is an exception"

"It's okay… I was the one who pay attention to my surroundings…"

She smiled faintly, "I'm going to clean the rest"

He nodded in agreement

"Do you want me to prepare you something?"

"Yeah, please, but only if you make me company"

She widened her eyes

"And eat too!"

Her lips parted. She didn't know what to say or think. Was she having the wrong idea?

"And I'm not hitting on you." He laughed, "But I like your company. It's not the first time I invite you to eat with me"

She laughed, "Yes I know… I… I didn't actually think you were hitting on me…"

"You did think!" he laughed hitting the obvious, "But relax. It was just my way to speak that wasn't so clear… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be… it happens… and what would you like for breakfast? Besides my company" she asked with a jokingly way

"Coffee and toasts"

"Just that?"

"Yeah"

"Alright, now excuse me"

Chris watched the young blonde leave and grinned again remembering the clumsy moment. Eliza was the daughter of the previous house cleaner who worked for him for several years, but due to illness, the woman couldn't continue her labor and what started as a random occasion, turned out that Eliza continued cleaning his condo. She didn't need it, but it ended up being an extra money for her and a way to return all the good he had done for her mother.

Eliza knew Chris was a lonely man. Her mother had told her many things about him during all the years she had worked for him. He even paid above the average salary, besides helping her with health care and other things. It was even with his help that her mother managed to buy a house for them and help in the investment of her education.  
The young woman knew the man had a good heart and good intentions. Also, he's a lonely man. She knew he has a sister, but both rarely meet. She also knows of his occasional nightstands due to the dirty sheets whenever it happened. Chris always changed sheets when he slept with someone, but let them in the laundry area. It also happened for her to see the used condoms in the trashcan in the bathroom and long hairs on the drain of the shower. It also had happened on few occasions of her witnessing him leaving with female companions before work. Eliza cleaned his apartment twice a week for the last two years and he never crossed the line with her.

Although, all those events were rare occasions and not that she really cared, but she couldn't help to notice that whenever it happened. It actually, intrigued her. Such a handsome man, good-hearted, respectful and nice company being so lonely. She was probably the only person, besides his coworkers, that he saw with some 'frequency'.

"How old are you now?" he asked taking a bite of the toast as they were sitting on the dining table

"25"

"25? That's a good age!" he commented with a smile

"Yeah, my mom says that too"

"And how's your mother?"

"She's good… but her knee is giving her trouble again, so tomorrow I'll accompany her to the doctor"

"Oh… I see. That's why you came today as an exception…"

She nodded in agreement, "Yeah… So how was your trip? Mission?"

"It was good. The same as usual. Shot some creatures and saved some people… and even took some time to visit an Art exhibition"

"Art exhibition?" she repeated making a surprised face. He didn't have any boards or paintings on the walls, besides his personal certificates in the office

"Yeah… it was cool… a girl that I saved invited me and I thought, why not? I had the time so I went"

"I see…" she replied making a face. Was he starting to leave the cave? She wondered.

"What about? Did you finish the college?"

"No, not yet. But this is the last semester"

"Cool… Will you graduate in Accounting?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any job at sight?"

"Not really."

"Well… I heard that they will be hiding people for several sectors in the BSAA and I think they will need new people in the Human Resources and Finance… if you want I can indicate you for a vacancy…"

She widened her eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah! You have the profile they look for. You're responsible, committed, focused and honest."

"Oh dang… I don't know what to say, but… to thank you!" she spoke with a large smile

He smiled, "You deserve it Liza. You deserve more than just cleaning my mess!"

"Oh Chris… I do it with pleasure and for free if you wanted! You have helped us for so long that I still get embarrassed when you pay my routines…"

"Nah, I'd never accept your favors for free! I know college is expensive! And has lots of expenses as well!"

"I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say it. Just give me your resume and I'll do the talk"

Eliza was a 25-year-old girl who came from a simple family of immigrants. She was born in the United States and had an older brother and a younger brother. She was the only female of the siblings. Her father worked in a fabric and her mother always worked as a house cleaner, but both parents always did their best to give their children education and a better life.

Eliza was a reserved girl, blonde and green-eyed. Long and wavy hair, perfect skin. She could be a model if she wasn't so shy for taking pictures. She wasn't skinny, nor fat and 5'8″ tall.

The rain was heavy outside. The pair continued talking before returning to their chores.

* * *

 **Somewhere**

Both of them were out of condition and played a sloppy game, but she played better than average with a strong forehand and narrowly won both sets. Afterward, as they sat in the club restaurant, he studied her, deciding she was the most interesting woman he'd met in years. She wasted no time on inconsequential chitchat, nor did she make any particular effort to impress him or flatter him. He could feel himself moving closer and closer to her. All his adult life he had in mind an ideal woman he could live and love. Katerina came closer to that image than any other woman he had met. Yet it was such a potentially dangerous ideal, this image of the perfect woman for Douglas, the CEO of a rising pharmaceutical company and owner of a famous laboratory, which was reluctant to give in to what might be only an illusion, created by his need to believe. Without something to look forward to, without someone to hope for, what was the point of his life, his work, his getting through the days? Despite his reluctance, every time he looked at her, saw her smile, or heard her laughter, something that he had been cold and hard inside him for a long time seemed to thaw a bit more.

He ordered tea and a tortilla. She ordered a glass of scotch. They found themselves temporarily lost for something to say. It wasn't an awkward silence, but rather a comfortable, companionable one. He felt no pressing need to fill the gap with idle chat, but took advantage of the time to admire, yet again, her pretty features. There was something so ineffably sane and calm and reasonable about her, yet combined with this was her comprehension of the grinding inhumanity of the business in which he made his living, and sharing him with longtime wife and children. Nothing had ever appealed to him quite so strongly as this combination of qualities.

"How is your college going?"

"It's going smooth. I will graduate in the end of the year"

"Still looking for a job?"

"Yes"

"You don't need a job. I give you enough monthly allowance for your expenses that shouldn't be much as I pay your college and the flat you live."

"Yeah and you always remind me of that…"

"I'm just saying you don't have to work…"

"I need to secure my future. You're not my guarantee… unless you make me your wife"

"We have discussed that!"

"Yes, we have and that's why I'm not going to stop looking for a job, even if that means to entertain myself before boredom kills me!"

"You can work to kill your boredom… but just work. Don't let me know you have other types of entertainment that is not me!" he spoke with a threatening tone and looked at his watch, "And speaking about entertainment… it's about time for you to entertain me"

(*)

Slowly, seductively, Katerina began to remove her clothes. She unzipped her dress and let it slither to her feet, then stood a moment, aware of the effect she was having on the man across the room in the shadows. His eyes were fixed unblinking on her. She dropped the straps of her slip, then eased the garment down her body, allowing it to pool at her feet. Her eyes connecting with the old man's.

"Go on!" he whispered urgently, drawing hard on the cigarette he held

She knew the black lace was a flattering contrast to the whiteness of her skin and looked down at herself, at the tops of her breasts. The sight of her own body aroused her and, again looking at him, she drew her fingertips across the exposed areas of her breasts.

He remained motionless, his eyes following her every movement.

Reaching back, she unhooked the bra, slid it off, and presented him with a full viewing of her breasts. He moved a step closer, his face remaining in shadow. He was tall, broad presence whose features were obscured by the concentration of light behind him. She ran her hands over her breasts as their eyes sparred, then, her lips curving into a slight smile, she stepped out of the black suede high heels and stood nude before him.

He turned to extinguish the cigarette in the ashtray on the bedside table. As he turned back, he was unknotting his tie, pulling it from around his neck and stuffing it into his jacket pocket. In silence, he closed his hand over her breast, his thumb grazing her nipple. She sighed and came closer, weaving her fingers through his soft, curling hair. She kissed his ear, licking his downy lobe, her fingertips now tracing the line of his jaw as his mouth touched against her shoulder, then her neck, his tongue darting against her skin. She could feel his hand searching in her hair. He was lovely, adept and sensitive to sensation.

His hand skimmed down the length of her body, closing over her buttocks to bring the lower half of her body against him. He was hard; it pleased her.

It was almost over 5 years he had taken her in his arms; he had hold her, and he had been lost. For 5 years, he had been in love with her. They seemed familiar, as if they had known each other forever. Was it possible she saw him precisely as he was and still managed to like him?

He liked her so much, enjoyed her so fully, it felt like an ache in his chest. Uncharted, there was a piece of him that he never allowed anyone to know. A deep hole of insecurity and fear; anger; resentment. A dark side of his so know perfect demeanor. Afraid of her possible letdown. Scared she could hurt him and leave him shattered.

There was a mischievous light to her eyes as she hooked her arms around his to kiss him as his hands continued working her body. He loved the way she kissed, the shape and feel of her mouth. The softness of her breasts beautifully formed. He lowered his head to kiss her breast, closing his mouth over her nipple, and she shivered, her fingers weaving though his hair. Then she had slipped away and was urging him over onto his back as her hands swooped down his shaft. She seemed like nothing more than a sin package.

When they were done, she took a quick shower and put on her clothes. As the usual, he drove her home and then headed to his home, to his routine, to his wife and children.

Katerina removed her clothes and threw them in the washing machine, and then headed to the bathroom to fill the bathtub. She needed to clean herself again. Thoughtful she wondered for how long she would stand being Douglas' mistress. A man who brought her a mix of feelings. Disgust and despair, but enjoyed the good life he provided her. Disgusting was her past. A past she didn't want anyone to know, but Douglas knew. Somehow, she felt trapped in his cove. She hated but she needed him. And necessity spoke higher for her ambitious nature. That way, she molded her ego according to the circumstances.

The next day Katerina woke up with the cellphone ringing. The call that she waited for so long. She got the job in the famous place. Not more and no less than the BSAA- _Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. Their initial payment was worth all her sacrifices. She was finally on her way to break the chains with Douglas. To break the chain with her past. She deserved to be better. She deserved more. Way more!_

* * *

 **Edonia**

Angelina Schmidt was at the garden of the simple two stories house she lived with her small family.

Since the Exhibition day, her mind was on fire. More and more weird dreams got her restless and sleepless. She entered in a productive mode. More and more paintings were done in record time. and Mr. Lionel seemed to set more fire into her flames as he revealed more of his family's secrets. And some secrets of his beloved property, the Lake House.

Back to her routines, her mind still remained in Bohma and she had the urge to continue the investigation of her dreams. Something was telling her to not let that go. She needed those answers despite not knowing the questions.

"Baby, you're still here" said her boyfriend George stepping closer to her, "You haven't eaten anything today…" he spoke in concern

"I need to finish this" she replied with a very focused expression, looking at the canvas

"What are you doing?" he asked in curiosity

"Just another work… to relax myself" she replied giving the final touches

George walked closer and saw a sumptuous and imposing man riding a black horse, "Who is he?" he asked

"I don't know. I saw him in my recent dreams"

George made a face. That man caused him a strange sensation. He looked at the veranda and saw another painting drying. Stepping closer he saw a stunning brunette woman, wearing a long sumptuous red gown by the side of the same man his girlfriend was currently working on.

"Who is she?" he asked in curiosity, but expecting her denial in knowing the identity

Angelina looked to the side to know what was he talking about and frowned, making a very serious face looking at the painting, "That one… Katarina" she replied with a dry tone

George made a face, "Katarina from Mr. Lionel's fables?"

"I don't know…I just couldn't stop hearing the people calling her name during my dreams. I couldn't forget it… even if I wanted"

The man let out a sigh and walked closer to the redhead woman, "My love… you should stop this… you are too impressed with all those stories and fables… Those people belong to the past…"

"They're telling me their stories"

"In exchange of what?"

"I don't know… I just can't stop…"

"You have to stop!"

"How?"

"I don't know… But think Olivia needs her mother!"

That moment, Angelina felt a strong sickness and a sharp pain in her head, "Olly…" she whispered as she was aided by George and not fall on the ground.

The man held her tight and guided her in. Unexpectedly, the redhead started crying and a deep hole seemed to form in her chest and images formed in her head to the point to make the young woman lose her conscience.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review :D**

 **A/N: 7/10/18 - Reupdated**


	21. Chapter 21

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. Some OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

 **Castle of Baveen, Library**

"Your husband has already granted as a Duke! What else do you want?"

"I always want more!"

The king frowned at her contest

"Look. We are on the same side, but we are the ones in the front line! We need more power to intervene in your own affairs! I am the one doing all the most important diplomacy with the other provinces and countries! I do deserve more for my effort! And my husband deserves a better title to continue his affairs in your favor!"

"You speak as if you were a sovereign…"

"I am a sovereign!"

"And what do I win with that?"

She gasped, "What do you win? More power and influence… and more importantly, you get the mine! Christopher has managed to secure that area only for us, the Bohmans!" she spoke convincing

The man exhaled thoughtful, "So a better title is all you want?"

She smiled with a mysterious gaze, "For now, yes"

"For now?" the man lifted an eyebrow

She smiled seductively, "Oh Charlie… My dear Charlie… you know you have nothing to lose by making an agreement with me. I always keep my word! We sign the papers, you get most of the profits and we both win in our instances… Oh and you also can imprison that man…"

He grinned, "I know what you want…" he spoke mysteriously

Katarina smiled and nodded in agreement.

(*)

" _The term "grand duke" as a monarch reigning over an independent state was a later invention to denote either a particularly mighty Duke or a monarchy playing an important political, military and/or economic role, but not large enough to be a Kingdom._

 _Christopher Reed was an imposing figure with a strong temperament who could also charm people with his courtesy and a graceful presence. He was a family man, an understanding father and husband who was passionately loved by his wife. Frequent phases of illness, partly due to a stomach ailment, occasioned long absences from court but did not reduce his high output of paperwork, and may have had an element of hypochondria in them._ _The Bohman diplomat wrote of his onetime superior: "This Grand Duke had such a head that he seldom went about anything but he had three or four purposes beforehand." A Baveen eyewitness of described him as "an intelligent man who could explain his ideas and who displayed an impressive dignity. Others, who did not know him, would have considered him worthy of a kingdom…"_

* * *

"I can't believe you gave him the mine!" Christopher spoke outraged as they returned to their palace after the entitlement ceremony

She grinned, "My love… Relax. We are on the same side! Everything belongs to the King!"

"Yes, but not the way you deliberately did! We have the hard work and won't receive a single penny just because of a change of title?"

"It is not only because the change of title!" she protested

"No? So what is it? Not to mention the imprisonment of Albert!"

"My only intention was to keep the order, to make justice."

"Enough! Don't play me a fool Katarina! I know what your intention was! This has nothing to do with justice. Is just a childish way of trying to impose respect! And respect isn't something that should be imposed. Your decision to keep someone like him in prison is nothing more than a whim. A whim of a spoiled woman!"

"My love… it is not fair…"

"Shut up! I'm not finished yet!"

Katarina stared him with a very serious face, inhaling bitterly.

"Why can't your eyes see the world the same way as me? Why didn't you learn in all these 6 years, through the good examples I gave you?"

She turned her face up, inhaling deeply, staring him with her chin up.

"I wonder if you ever cared about my struggles…my causes…" he spoke looking saddened, "If you're so faithful and loyal to me…"

"Do not say that, my love…" a tear cored down her face as she tried to keep her composure, "I am exclusively yours!"

"Really? From what I see the king seems to 'serve' you in all you want…"

"You are insulting me! I am just a very close friend of him! I cannot say the same about you, can I?"

He gasped changing topics, "So why imprison Albert?"

"Albert is a bad man! He is evil!"

"Do you have proof of that?"

"His alliance with his brother, William."

"They are alchemists. Not evil!" he protested

"I do not regret my suggestion! I did what I thought was best. I will not give up the power of my requests!"

"I won't give up either, Katarina. I won't give up… because that's something that both of us are very similar. We don't give up easily of anything!" he spoke and passed by her leaving the chamber

Katarina remained in the same position. Sinking in all his words. Her favorite lady in waiting came next to her trying to comfort her.

"Do not touch me!" she ordered as she continued looking bitter, feeling completely humiliated, "He had no right to treat me that way. I am not a child anymore for someone to tell me to shut up!"

"Although he is still your husband. Beyond that, he is The Great Duke!"

"A Great fool! That is what he is! A weak!" Katarina shouted

"Your royal highness shouldn't get so upset. I'm sure your highness will know how to overcome the situation… He being your husband… you know it's only needed a kinder gaze, an apology…" the woman suggested with a mischievous gaze

Katarina smiled mischievously in agreement, "You are smart. That is the reason why you are my favorite!" she spoke delighted

"I'm just practical, milady" the woman replied in a cynic humility

"You are right! All I need is to act smoothly with him… that always breaks his barriers…"

"It's been six years I'm dealing with your husband!"

"Yes indeed! Now leave me alone… I need to think…"

"Do you want me to prepare your bath before I leave?"

"Yes please… and you know what... You do not need to leave. I like your point of views and hints, it helps me when I bath and think…"

"Will you speak to Charles again?"

"No. I will not have contact with him besides the necessary. Christopher is growing suspicious of me"

"Why? It's not something he hasn't done in the past…"

"Exactly! And he has no reason in doubting my motives; I never did anything to receive such treatment even having the permission and reasons to do it!"

"That proves that in all these six years he has learned to care about you milady…"

Katarina gave a shrug, "Maybe… but I still have my doubts"

"Do you still think…?" the woman spoke leaving the sentence in hang

Katarina frowned, "No, it is not that… the problem is the type of woman he wants me to be"

"What type?"

Katarina inhaled and let out a long sigh, "The shadow of his pathetic late wife…"

.

.

.

" _Although, at Christopher's side was his stunning wife Katarina Reed O'Gregon._

 _The period of Katarina the Great rule Baveen, the_ _Katarinian Era_ _, is often considered the Golden Age of the Bohman Empire and the Bohman and Baveenian nobility. The_ _Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility_ _, issued during the reign of Charles' father and confirmed by King Charles, freed Bohman nobles from compulsory military or state service. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the Governors the Grand Duke Reed and the Grand Duchess Katarina, changed the face of the country._

 _Katarina enthusiastically supported the ideals of The Enlightenment, thus earning the status of an enlightened despot. Her husband as a patron of the arts and military. She presided over the age of the Bohman Enlightenment, a period when the Baveen Institute, the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe, was established._

 _They were the power couple of their time._ "

* * *

 **Reed-O'Gregon Palace**

It was night. Katarina was lying in bed reading a book when Christopher entered the chamber to change his outfit to the nightgown.

Katarina closed the book and put it on the bedside table and walked closer to Christopher calmly.

"Are you still mad at me?" she asked with a low tone

He didn't respond and threw his pants on the armchair, "Mad is not the word…" he replied harshly

Katarina knew he was lying. Christopher was too transparent about his rage. He didn't know how to hide it nor disguise when he was upset, "Forgive me…" she spoke with a sorrow tone

He looked back frowning. Surprised. Katarina wasn't the type to admit her mistakes. Much less to ask for forgiveness. What happened to her pride?

"I did not do that to upset you… if you want I can try to speak to Charles when he return from Bohma and…" she spoke looking down

"No. it's not necessary… What's done is done! Better leave it that way" he interrupted her

"It is necessary! You are distant from me again!"

"I'm not distant. I've been sleeping in the same bed as you and not in my own chamber…" he shrugged

"Still feels like you are not even here… you keep your back to me. Do not look in my eyes…or touch me…"

"I've been occupied…" he replied walking away in distress and opened the wardrobe to get his nightgown.

His hand stopped half the way to the shelf as he felt the warm hands of his wife embracing him from behind. Her right hand sliding down his abdomen and rested teasingly on his groin.

"I miss you…" she whispered kissing his back, passing her tongue on his neck as her lefty fingertips teased his skin, causing him shivers. He couldn't hide it nor deny he liked her touches. He missed it.

"You're the one who gave me more responsibilities…" he replied with a husky voice still resisting her teases

"Instead you punish me when you could forgive me…"

"You sent an innocent man to prison!"

"Forgive me! I will fix that when Charles returns…" she spoke apologetic hugging him tight and resting her face on his back

The man let out a heavy sigh, intrigued with Katarina's resignation. He turned to look at her. She was looking down. He lifted her chin and she looked up at him. Their eyes finally met after a couple of weeks of cold distance. Softened, he leaned over and kissed her passionately.

It took him a long period of 6 years into their marriage to see her in a different light and he was able to like, if not love, her a little bit more for who she was. He could now understand her reasons and embrace her causes. He had also grown to admire her strength, bravery and intelligence. She had indeed proved to be a good partner, a good mother and above all a good wife. An excellent lover. Sexually he had nothing to complain about her. She satisfied him, infatuated him. In fact, since they were younger she did have a sex appeal on him. He just fought it as he felt it raw, beastly, feral, wrong. He was a good intended man, but he had that darker side. A side he only allowed in battles where he judged it was fitting and right to use it.

However, Katarina loved that side of him. His beast. His controlled demon. She sought for it and she got it.

His hands travelled her body to finally realize she was naked all the long. She knew how to trigger his buttons, his flesh, his desire. His lust.

He sucked her neck, leaving the marks of his teeth and lifted her. She straddled him and he quickly stifled inside of her making her groan with the sudden penetration. She liked it. She loved it, instantly getting wetter to fit him, to accommodate him entirely. That pleased her.

He was strong. She was flexy. They were feral. They loved the sounds of their flesh clashing against each other. She crossed her legs around his waist making him go deeper as she came. She nailed the back of his shoulders, his arms. He groaned. He loved when she arrested him between her legs nearly being unable to move. He walked over the bed and lied her on her back. He bent on her, took her breasts in his hands, and sucked her nipples. Hard. She loved when it hurt. When he bit it delicately and then licked as a way to ease the pain.

A charge of intimacy flooded his body, better than anything else ever had of furtive invasion, the naughty thrill and the powerful sense of knowing that she didn't object at all to anything he requested. To anything he wanted to do with her. She was his. Completely his.

In fact she had thrown her head back and arched her back giving him the perfect access to her neck, breasts and abdomen so he could run his tongue as she squirmed against him and more of those quiet moans slipped free of those perfect lips. It was deeply satisfying to touch her this way. He could almost feel it himself, the chill that ran through her, the shiver of response as her arousal built as her fingers ran through his hair, shoulders and arms.

Sex with her was the best, feeling so in tune with a woman that he could sense her response, could almost feel her pleasure in his own body as he touched her. What had she done to him? His skin was alive with the texture of her smooth cool flesh. He did things his mind objected and saw as wrong, dirty, forbidden. He tried, but he couldn't dominate his forbidden persona when with her. A woman that could be as wilder as himself. Lustful.

He kissed, bit down. Licking down her stomach slowly. Seductively. Teasingly all the way down to her pink spot. He bent his head and took it in his mouth. His hot tongue laving hard against it as her parted legs rested on his shoulders. He felt it tighten in his mouth, and he drew on it harder until she quivered, panting and giving little cries.

She was on the brink already. It would take so little to make her climax again right here like this. That knowledge swept through him, how in sync they were. How susceptible she was to the sensations he could bring with his hands and mouth. He wanted to have her screaming with pleasure, rocking to orgasm on top of him, a waterfall of that beautiful woman squeezing the sheets, convulsing on the mattress. Her thighs squeezing his head as he drank her liquor.

He took her face in his hand roughly and kissed her. She could taste herself in his mouth. She was clawing at his back, trying to get closer to him, gasping with arousal and his for the taking. Don't. Something in his mind said, some last shred of sanity. Don't take her standing up like an animal. He nearly growled at the thought of lifting her up against headboard or better yet, bending her over and gripping her hips hard as he showed her exactly what he was capable of. Still even into six years of marriage he tried to draw back. He fought back.

He looked at her, disheveled. Her bright eyes and swollen lips. The mess of her dark hair. The perdition in her eyes. He looped an arm around her hips and pulled her against him. He softly cupped her face.

"Listen to your instincts. Ignore all logic. Let go…" she demanded raising her legs to his shoulders and lying her back on the mattress and lifting her arms up. Urging to see and feel that man when he wasn't in control of his body.

He looked at her, right in the eyes, for longer and the urge to do more than just hear this woman scream out his name overwhelmed him. Her lips parted and he shoved any other emotions aside except the need to possess her. He let go of his tight rein of control and the need to explore, to let time slip away from him hit him. He sank into her rough and deep. She screamed as he reached the bottom of her. He could feel it.

Katarina definitely did something to him, and on some level, it freaked him out.

He trusted harder. Her legs locked around his neck. His left hand held both of her fists tightly as his right hand was on her throat. He trusted and trusted again. She pushed her hip against his pelvis wanting him deeper. Rougher. Painful. Blissful pain. Her eyes begging for more. Her nails clenched in his skin. Her failing voice begging for more as she enjoyed the suffocation as he fucked her harder. Deeper. Wilder. His pelvis nearly entering her. She loved it. She loved accommodating the all of him. Tightly buried.

She groaned. He groaned. Their fleshes clashing loud and fast. The headboard beating against the wall. They didn't care if the servants could hear them. She enjoyed that thought. That attention. In fact, in royalty such intimate moments were a public matter.

Her tight muscles spamming around him. Wetting him, his balls. His balls smashed against her buttocks. He couldn't take any longer. She propelled him heedlessly onward as her body rose and fell to match his pace. The demon burst free of its cage as he took her with a ferocity he couldn't stop. She held onto him as she felt the unraveling within him. He plunged into her again and a guttural shout escaped him. The pulsations of his release filling deep inside of her brought forth an answering orgasm from her again and she cried out.

Slowly he regained the control again and released her arms and neck so she could breathe properly. The delighted smile on her face. Satisfied – for now. The scratches on his arms. The mark of his hand on her neck. She unlocked his neck.

Falling back on the bed, she marveled over the beauty of his chiseled body, dampened with sweat, as he remained rigid above her. Slowly, his head came back down and his eyes met hers. His hair was tussled as it fell almost boyishly across his forehead. What transpired between them had done nothing to ease his need for her. Instead, it had only whet the demon' appetite for more.

Katarina braced herself for what was to come. However, he didn't strike as he stared unwaveringly down at her and kept her body caged beneath his. He didn't so much as breathe. She knew it was taking all he had not to pounce on her and take the rest of what he needed from her.

She loved him even more for it.

He gazed wordlessly at her as some new emotion came to life within him. He wasn't sure what this feeling was, but she was the only one who had ever brought it out in him.

Katarina smiled at him as she found herself staring into a pair of beautiful, deep brown eyes once more, "There's the Christopher I love" she whispered

She was his, but more than that. Somewhere along the way, he had fallen in love with her too at some extent.

Christopher rolled over and climbed from the bed. He glanced back at where Katarina remained sleeping peacefully for the past few hours.

Moving away, he walked into the bathroom. He turned the sink on and splashed his face with water. He pulled a towel from the rack and dried himself before lifting his head to meet his haggard reflection in the mirror. His face hadn't seen a razor in a while. Thick stubble lined his cheeks and jaw. He had rubbed her skin raw earlier because of it and she seemed to like it.

He walked into the bedchamber as a knock sounded on the door. Grabbing his robe and dressing it, he hurried to answer it before it woke Katarina. He crackled the door open, his eyes narrowing on his advisor.

"What is it?" he slipped out and closed the door to within an inch

"I have got a message from the king"

"And?"

"He wants you to go to Bohma as soon as you can"

"Did something happen?"

"I don't know details"

Christopher inhaled and nodded thanking him for the message. He entered back into the chamber and changed his clothes to leave and head to Bohma.

* * *

 **Green Hills, Bohma**

It was morning; Angelique was playing outside with her five-year-old son, Oliver, when she noticed George coming their way.

"Good morning my sun shines" he greeted them with a smile

"Good morning papa" Olly replied

"Good morning George. Where are you going so well dressed?" Angelique replied noticing the well dressed manners of the average looking man

"The king called me"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know…I'm about to find out"

"The king called you? Can I go with you?" Olly asked innocently excited

George smiled softly, "No my dear. I'm sorry, but I can't take you with me"

"Is the king back in town or are you going on a trip to Baveen?" Angelique asked

"No, he is in town… Now I have to go. I tell you everything when I get back"

Angelique nodded in agreement and smiled softly to him. As she watched him leave and Oliver getting back to play, many thoughts crossed her mind. The king was back in town. She couldn't help but wonder if Christopher was back too.

She looked at her little ginger boy. Oliver had her looks in general. Fair skin, green eyes and red hair… But his temper was Christopher's.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

"George Talbot, from the House of Talbot?" said the king facing the man standing before him

"Yes, your majesty."

"Your father was a marquees and close friend of my late father and a great dealer from what I have heard"

"Yes, they were close…"

"I wonder if your father passed his negotiation gift to you as I heard you run a jewelry shop? Is that correct?"

"In fact he did pass his knowledge to his children but I am the only son that continues running the family's business. My mother is the one who actually runs the jewelry-painting shop"

"Painting?" the king asked in curiosity

"Yes"

"I didn't know Lady Talbot had artistic skills"

"She doesn't, but her assistant does"

"Oh, and is the assistant a good painter?"

"The best! I have never seen such realistic traces before; so detailed and so faithful."

"Interesting. I'd like to meet your assistant, I was in fact looking for a painter. Does he…"

"She" George corrected him politely

"Does she give art classes?"

"Yes she does."

"Good! Tell her I want to speak with her about it"

"Yes I'll tell her. And how can I serve your majesty?"

"I invite you to return to the court. Your title and rights as Marquees will be reestablished. I need your proficiency with negotiation and use it with other new provinces as our territory is growing thanks to the battles won by the Grand Duke of Baveen."

George remained thoughtful, "May I think about it and answer you later?"

"Absolutely, but I want you to know that the conversation and negotiation is open if you have reservations or requests to make"

"Thank you. I'm glad to know that"

(*)

George Talbot returned home thoughtful. He didn't expect such proposal from the king. Since his mother abdicated from living in the court, he never imagined he could ever go back to it. Not that he did care immensely about such position. He did enjoy his life as an ordinary person, although he wasn't a hypocrite to deny he like the prestige such title or position permitted.

At dinner, he broke the news to the family. As expected, his mother Margareth Talbot didn't like the news and promptly gave her position. Though, she didn't impose her wishes to him but hoped he'd be wise to make his decision.

"Oh and I was almost forgetting… The king wants to speak with you" he added looking at the redhead woman who was still in the dining table

"What? Why?" she replied surprised

"About art classes. During our conversation, I ended up mentioning your skill and he demonstrated interest in speaking with you… Probably he wants you to teach his children…"

Angelique remained thoughtful and apprehensive. Giving classes in the court meant that at any time, she could reencounter Christopher and that was a thought that caused her fear. Long time ago she gained courage to speak with Christopher and tell him about Oliver. However, that courage happened long enough for her to have let go of that possibility, although she still owned the truth to her son who grew older every day and deserved to know his own history and later make his own decision if he would forgive his father for abandoning them or not.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **I'm sorry guys for taking so long to update. I got in a training for a job and was studying, so I didn't have time to write or even think. :(**

 **But I got new ideas for the story :D**

 **I'll write in my own pace, but I will definitely continue the story :D**

 **Thank you all for the follows and faves in my stories! :D**

 **Thank you all for reading my work. Your support gives me a boost to continue improving!**

 **And as the usual...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	22. Chapter 22

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Baveen Castle, Governor Palace**

"I do not know if it is your highness knowledge, but I have just learned that Albert Walker was arrested and is still in the castle dungeon," reported Demeter, Christopher's advisor.

"Oh, yes, I heard. He attacked one of our soldiers, did not he?" Replied the Grand Duchess coldly

"I thought Christopher had intervened in his release"

"Intervened?" she raised an eyebrow making a face

"Yes. In the absence of the king and as the governor of Baveen he has the power to do it so… at least in the referred case…"

Their conversation was interrupted when Albert's wife arrived at the castle and got to meet the stunning brunette woman.

"What the hell does this mean? Who are you?" asked the O'Gregon with an outraged expression

"I... I... My name is Anastacia, Your Highness," the young girl replied, revering.

"But what are you doing here? Why do you... Anastacia? Ah, so you are the woman… The one by whom Albert abdicated from the court," Katarina deduced

"I came here because I want to know how he is..." the girl spoke, taking courage

"To invade my castle in this way... You are a very daring woman! That is a compliment…" Katarina replied trying to be nice and cynical implying the woman's connection with witchcraft, "Well, your boyfriend... husband... is where he should be: in the dungeon…" she completed with a shrug

"That's not fair, since all he tried to do was to defend me." The woman protested

"But you do not look like a woman who needs a man to defend you" said the O'Gregon cynically

"And I don't really need it, but he intervened before I could do anything, which explains why the soldier didn't get so much hurt" said the young Walker

Katarina grinned, "I think it was better that way, at least Albert was arrested in your place, which already shows a certain chivalry, which, by the way, is what is expected of a noble... Ah, pardon me; he no longer is a noble man… I keep forgetting this detail," Katarina commented sarcastically, "Anyway, unfortunately, for now there is nothing you can do, he will be on trial and he will have his chance to defend himself." amended the Grand Duchess

"For your highness to prove the innocence of Albert, just ask any of the marketers. Everyone knows that some soldiers tend to abuse people's goodwill and..." Anastacia tried to explain

"I do not need you to tell me what I should or should not do, and in my understanding I am strictly abiding by Albert's will, since I am treating him as a commoner, or you do not think I should treat him as a trouble maker or even as a sorcerer?" Katarina stared the woman imposingly, "Well, I think you can go now, I promise you will be advised of the date of the trial." She added as she sat on her chair opening a book, "Or would you rather I call the guards to get you out?", she spoke coldly

Anastacia faced the grand duchess, full of hatred, "Just to inform your ignorance, alchemists are not sorcerers! And Albert is a men of science!" the woman spoke before turning her back.

Katarina watched the woman with a serious demeanor

"Trial?" Demeter making a face, broke the silence as he had witnessed the women's conversation

"Yes. A trial!... Ah and just to finish our conversation it is like you said. In the absence of the king, my beloved husband is the sovereign of the estate however, in my husband's absence I Am the sovereign here and I Am the one who decides everything! Albert will continue in prison and his girlfriend or whatever she is, is better watch out or I should prove she is a witch for the way she invaded the castle without being caught… and you know the penalty for witchcraft!" Katarina spoke defiant

Demeter stared back at Katarina remaining in silence. No words were needed. Both shared mutual non-sympathies for each other. Some time later, she headed to Bohma to visit her sister.

* * *

 **Northman Palace, Bohma  
**

"Aww my beloved duchess sister, how are you?" said Katarina greeting Elizabeth who was lying in the bed

"I'm good sister… just tired of only staying in this bed"

"But you know it is for a greater sake. It is for my beloved nephew's sake" Katarina spoke caressing gently Elizabeth's 5-month-belly

"I know sister… but it can be also a little niece"

"Nah, my intuition says it is a boy! And I do not often get it wrong!"

Elizabeth smiled faintly, "The truth is that it doesn't matter if will be a boy or a girl. I just want it to be healthy and this time I can make it to the end…"

"You will my sister. You will! I know this time you will have your so dreamed little boy that will make the O'Gregon's proud with his existence and continue our lineage!"

"I hope so, my beautiful sister… I really hope so… after what I did to have it…" Elizabeth spoke hesitant

"What did you do?" Katarina asked in curiosity

 **Flashback**

"I did not think about coming here, but they talked so well about you, I know we already met, it was not good due to my husband...I'm sorry…" Elizabeth spoke apologetic as she entered the mysterious house in the woods of Bohma

"It was not good, it was not but no need to apologize….You are heartbroken, but you, ah, you are going to be very happy. Sometimes we do not expect happiness. But it happens. A miracle may happen"

Incredulous, Elizabeth was unresponsive. "Miracle is what we find impossible and that becomes possible. Miracle is when a blessing falls on our head. A miracle, yes, you will have it, let me bless you," said the seer praying on the blonde with fervor

Sometime later, Elizabeth went to the hospital to make an appointment with Vladimir because her period was delayed.

"What is wrong with me, Doctor?" The young duchess asked preoccupied

"There's nothing wrong with you. You're pregnant."

"Pregnant? Impossible!" said the blonde, "I cannot be pregnant. I'm late, but I guess it's because I'm worried. Many things happened in my life… But pregnant, no way, it's impossible. For years, the doctor who held your position, said I could never get pregnant again" spoke Katarina's sister

"Wrong diagnosis" Vladimir said

"I've tried, but I cannot get pregnant," she said.

"Honestly, the other doctor, with all due respect, has gone too far in the diagnosis, but I do not see anything wrong with you.

"Attempts have not been missed, Doctor," replied Duke Northman's wife

"You may not be so fertile, it took a while to get pregnant, but there's a baby there," Vladimir said with certainty

 **End of Flashback**

Katarina leaned closer and took her younger blood into a hug of support. Despite all their differences, Katarina did care for her sister's well being and she really wished her sister to succeed being a mother this time… and Pierce a father.

Still, after years they had broken up, Katarina never forgot the man's lovingness. Once she did carry his blood in her womb, turning the brunette duke as the first one that almost gave her, their first-born. However, it was gone too soon. Too soon for her to feel like a mother to be. Too soon for her to appreciate her condition. Too soon for them to realize the big change inflicted. But not too soon for them to have felt connected, nearly like one.

Katarina O'Gregon never forgot the man who most loved her. The man who most wished for her. The man who most respected her and put her in a high light. She never forgot his lovingness that at times she missed. A lovingness she didn't find in Christopher.

However, her decision was made. She would take it to all the final consequences. Pierce now belonged to her lovely sister. His lovingness suited her sister's sweetness. Sometimes she did envy it.

Not even in their best moments and phases, Katarina ever learned how loving Christopher could be. Yet, she loved him. She loved him with everything she had and undoubtedly with what she didn't have either. She couldn't really complain that much. Christopher was hers and she always made sure to keep him at her side no matter how much it costed.

That name. The blond man's name. How long she didn't see him or heard his name. However, he had never been forgotten. Madeline made sure to always remind her of him. The more she grew, the more alikeness was shared. Was seen loudly in her eyes. So loud that at times she couldn't disguise her discomfort with her own daughter. Her firstborn.

Years had passed since Christopher stopped implying Madeline wasn't his. Did he know it and had accepted it, or was he too oblivious to her distinct traits?

If he knew, why didn't he have his usual outbursts and demanded for divorce? As back then they didn't share attachments until two years into their marriage when she gave birth their first child and his firstborn daughter. A daughter who got their best genes of beauty. A daugther that wasn't sweet or kind like Madeline, actually she was temperamental like Christopher. A daughter that became her relief and a truth. The true daughter they had. It was undoubtedly their genes in her veins and physical traits. Brown hair and blue-eyes. Her favorite daughter.

Then Christopher gave her a son in the previous year. Their first son. Undoubtedly Christopher's son. Brown hair. His copy with a big tip of her beauty.

But Madeline, Maddy… so different of all of them. Blonde and blue-eyed. Pale skin. Beautiful like a doll. Well, Vladimir was indeed a handsome man. Madeline took their best genes.

She excused Maddy had taken her family's blond side that came from their mother. However, there hadn't been any pale-blond relative in the family like Madeline. Her hair growing wavy, nearly straight – like Vladmir's. To make it curly, Katarina used hair stuff on the child, only to make her more alike them. More presentable and convincing to her lie.

The years of peace away from Vladimir were a balm to her. A longing balm for her during their stay in Bohma. In fact, Katarina did everything not to join Christopher whenever he came to Bohma so she could avoid stumbling into him.

He was a conceited doctor in town and still treated personally the O'Gregon family members and the royal family.

Seven years had passed since she had last seen the biological father of Madeline Reed O'Gregon.

"What about you sister. How are things going at your end?" Elizabeth asked

"Everything is going alright. Christopher is a hard worker like me and I wanted you to be the first one to know…" the brunette spoke leaving the sentence in hang

"To know what?"

Katarina smiled largely and placed her sister's hand on her stomach.

Elizabeth smiled happily understanding her sister's gesture, "You…again?"

Katarina nodded in confirmation, "Yes my sister. Both O'Gregon sisters pregnant at the same time, but of course you are more advanced!"

"Does he know?"

"No!" Katarina's excitement vanished from her face

"Why not?"

"Because I am waiting for the right time…"

"Right time?"

"Yes, the right time."

"I thought you said everything was alright between you"

"Yes, things are fine, but…" she made a pause, "Christopher had said he did not want any more children when we already have three little rascals… but even we doing everything to prevent it… I cannot help being so fertile!"

"I give you reason, sister… prevention can fail"

"Indeed… that is the reason why I told him I felt sick during the trip… he still had not considered I am actually pregnant"

"But you can't hide it forever"

"I know! But I will for as long as I can and I count with his absences for that"

"Is that his?" the blonde O'Gregon asked after some hesitation

"Of course it is! Who else's would be?" Katarina replied outraged

"Don't take it as an insult… I'm sorry… I don't know how it came out like that… I'm sorry!"

Katarina let out a heavy sigh shaking her head in displease

"Christopher is a good man. Whenever you tell him, I'm sure he will understand and accept another piece of him generating in you"

Katarina remained in silence. Distant. Thoughtful.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Garden**

Christopher left his chamber and walked over the corridors. Katarina was resting in their bedchamber as she had feeling sick during the trip to Bohma, which delayed their return to Baveen.

Taking advantage of a moment of break, he headed to the main garden of the castle and heard children's laughter. At distance, he spotted the blond little girl playing along a ginger little boy. He smiled. There was nothing more rewarding than seeing his little Madeline laughing and having fun as a happy child. He watched them from afar for some time before coming closer to them.

"Daddy!" screamed the little girl enthusiastically jumping into his arms as he was sitting on the bench

"Hey princess. Who's your friend?" he asked

"His name is Oliver" she replied and called her little friend to introduce him to Christopher

"Hello Oliver!" the man greeted him with a large and friendly smile

"Hello Mr…" the boy didn't really know how to address to the man

"My name is Christopher"

"You shall call him your royal highness!" Madeline instructed him

"It's alright my princess. Oliver you can call me Chris, I prefer it that way"

"You can call me Olly"

"Alright Olly. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too Mr. Chris"

He laughed. Children and their innocence. Captivating boy.

"So Olly, how old are you?"

The boy lifted his tiny hand and showed the number, "Five" he replied

"Oh, you know how to count!"

"Yes. My mommy taught me"

"And who's your mother?" Christopher asked in curiosity

"Olly" they heard a male voice

"Papa!" the ginger boy ran in the direction of the new marquees of Bohma

"Your royal highness" George Talbot greeted him politely

"Lord Talbot" he greeted him back. He couldn't help but to notice the non-resemblance the man and the child had. Well, that didn't mean a problem in reality. Maybe he looked like the mother.

"This is my papa" the ginger boy introduced him proudly

"Yeah, I can see that… I didn't know the Lord was married and had a son…" Christopher commented

"No, I'm not married yet, but he's my son... Olly is my son…" George spoke trying to disguise his trembling voice

"That's good and congratulations for such a good boy! And we share a funny coincidence"

"Why?"

"Because Oliver was also the name of my father" commented the Grand Duke

Soon after, George Talbot said goodbyes to the Grand Duke and his daughter and returned home with Oliver.

(*)

Angelique was finishing washing the dishes when she heard the entrance of her son who ran to greet her happily with a hug, followed by George who had a weird expression. The redhead woman ordered her son to go bath so he could have dinner.

"What face is that? Did something bad happen?" she asked preoccupied as she arranged the dry dishes in the cabinet

"No… Just the fact that I encountered Christopher"

"What?" she turned in surprise to look at him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I could never mistake his face. Especially now that he's the Grand Duke of Baveen…"

Angelique bit her lips and swallowed, pretending she didn't care about the man who gave her Oliver, "So he's back in town…" she affirmed looking away in distress

"Yes, he is"

"I suppose with his wife…"

"Yes… this time she came along"

She remained in silence

"And I think they will stay longer in the castle…"

"Is Baveen left alone?"

"No. The queen is there"

"Oh… so why do you think they'll stay longer?"

"The Grand Duchess has feeling sick"

"So?"

"So the problem is that you give classes to the king's children… in the castle…where the Grand couple are staying in. I think you should change the location of the classes or pretend some illness to not go to the castle while they're there"

"I doubt Christopher remembers me…"

"Who knows… But he does know Olly"

"What?" Angelique yelled accidentally letting the plate slip from her hands

"He didn't suspect of anything besides the coincidence of names with his father…"

"You talked to him?"

"Briefly… Olly is friends with his daughter Madeline"

"This can't be…" she said sitting on the chair in preoccupation

"But I said something that I hope you will forgive me…" he spoke in apprehension

She looked at him in concerned, "What did you say?"

"In order to keep any suspicion from him away, I introduced myself as Olly's father"

She swallowed, "Did he buy it?"

"Yes"

The redhead stayed in silence for a while processing the news. Part of her preferred things to remain that way. Christopher abandoned them, so he had no rights in being part of Olly's life. That was what she kept telling herself as she still kept some resentment with the handsome liar.

"In practice you're Olly's father. You told him no lie… you're forgiven" she spoke looking distantly

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

On his way to the library, Christopher bumped into one of the lady-in-waiting of the queen. A woman with hazel eyes and light brown curly hair. Immediately they smiled and apologized for the distraction. Instantly both shared a strong and mutual attraction.

"I'm sorry your royal highness for my distraction…" said the woman apologetic

"It's alright. I was distracted myself too"

"It's an honor meeting the Great Duke of Baveen. Your name has come across you" she revered him, "Indeed the reason I shall apologize for almost hurting you when we bumped"

"It happens Lady…" he left in hang waiting for her introduction

"White. My name is Cathlyn White, your royal highness"

"The wife of the Lord White of Arthena?" he asked

"Yes"

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

He woke up with a start. He had the same dream again. Overall, the same characters, the same locations. Although a new scenario, and a new woman. And the little boy.

He looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock in the morning.

"Good morning"

A female voice greeted him as a woman with short hair left the bathroom and smiled at him softly

"Good morning" he smiled back gesturing to her re-join him in the bed as he was on a day-off

She lay down on the bed and pulled her close him. She curled into his side and put a leg over his. He had his arm behind her and was rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"I thought the rule was to not get attached"

"Lying in the bed together is getting attached?" he replied with another question

She gave a shrug while her hand caressed his stomach, "It is when I had just spent the night with again. And again. And again... for the last couple of months"

"I guess I'm the one who broke my own code, huh?"

"I broke it too by accepting and staying over your place…"

"I like staying with you and we don't have much time when we're at work, do we?"

"Not really… still it's becoming a routine…"

"Is that a bad thing for you, Cathy?"

"Not at all! Actually it's still hard to believe that Captain Chris Redfield is…"

"Falling for you" he completed her sentence

She looked up at him surprised. Speechless. Chris Redfield falling in love with her? Did she hear it right? No way!

"Why the surprise? Can't a captain fall in love once in a lifetime?" he asked jokingly

She laughed slightly, speechless. Incredulous.

"I realized a few things tonight and I'm still processing everything myself, but I think you need to know… There's something about you that is different and I haven't been me for six months now. I grew to like my life the way it was. I came and went as I wanted and saw who I wanted and fucked who I wanted, whenever I wanted… well, kind of… anyways, I didn't care if they came back after that unless I wanted to get laid, actually I made sure to let them know that they wouldn't come back. It seems I was just like all those guys you are running from. I had seen you at work and thought you were cute, but you always seemed so pre-occupied. We started talking, you seemed nice, we were so comfortable around each other, and then you told me you were married but in the process to getting divorced and had a son, Zack. I thought to myself, 'I need to stay the hell away from this woman because she's going to affect me and my life in ways I don't want her to.' And then I took you home that Friday night and we fucked" he sighed and kept talking, "I knew that you were different immediately. I worried about you all weekend because I wasn't at work and hadn't called you like I said I would. I knew what you were thinking, and it killed me. You figured I thought you were an easy fuck and that would be it. Believe it or not, I was afraid to talk to you the next time we met because I figured you'd kick me in the balls or throw something at me. That made me stop and think because I never felt like that with anybody else.  
When I came through those doors and you were right in front of me, all I wanted to do was kiss you. Well, that and several other things. And then out of the clear blue sky, I did kiss you in front of everyone who was around. When I did that, I thought I had lost my mind. I never thought I'd be with anybody else like that ever again, and here I am telling you all those things when you had said I'm your "fuck buddy" because I know you just got divorced and didn't want a relationship so soon. I don't know what you do to me, but I can't think straight when you're around me. I know you're a mother and I see Zack as the son I never had! And most probably the only child I'll ever have as you told me you can't get pregnant anymore and back then I was relieved and thought this was perfect and really too good to be true because I never really dreamed of having children of my own. And tonight this realization just happened…"

She listened to him attentively and even prepared herself to whatever was coming from him. Or he would leave her when they were done with this conversation or they will be stronger as a couple.

He inhaled deeply as he kept her chin up so she remained looking up at him. Staring deep into her eyes, "I want you to move in with me. You and Zack."

She widened her eyes in shock

"I want us to be a family. It doesn't have to be right away, I understand you'll need time to process this too and prepare Zack… But I can wait! I just want you to know that I'm really serious about you like I have never been before with anyone else."

Her brain was on fire, her heart pounding in her chest. That was unexpected! Chris Redfield chose her. After all the talk and rumors about him in the BSAA, there he was proposing to her the next level of their relationship. That was so unexpected! They had a lot in common. She understood him. She understood his reasons. She knew who he was. She knew his "fear" of commitment. She knew his loneliness. She understood him. She admired him. She liked him the way he was. His transparency. His sincerity. He never led her on. As a matter of fact, the primal reason for her to have accepted to sleep with him was that she wasn't looking for a relationship either. She was in a state of "fear" of commitment too. She could relate to him. The difference she had a son who depended on her. But he did have a sister whom he had raised since they were young when their parents died. And Zack liked Chris. That was very important! She'd never date a man that wouldn't respect her son and Chris did respect and acted responsibly with him.

"And I'm free now" she whispered. That was all she could say at that moment.

"Yes. We are free now…" he whispered back and leaned down his face to kiss her

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **I don't have much to say for now, besides to thank for everyone who reads this story and all my other stories! :D**

 **Current Models for the 18th**

 **Katarina:** **Merve Boluğur**

 **Christopher:** ** **Ekin Koç****

 ** **Pierce:**** ** ** **Ekin Koç******

 ** ** **Elizabeth:****** ** ** ** **Anastasia Tsilimpiou********


	23. Until the Day

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Somewhere in Bohma, Daylight**

Katarina was standing before a mysterious man as they talked in a low tone.

Katarina made a face, "I have to admit that you know me better than I expected."

"That's indeed. And that's why the biggest concern is the advisor and not your husband."

"That moron!"

"The moron that has keeping eye on you, attentive to your moves, and more… to the secret chambers."

"So he knows already…"

The man nodded in agreement

"Even if he says anything to my husband…"

"He won't say anything! Not until he has proof of such accusations, in the meantime…"

"In the meantime what? Why taking so long to schedule the march over Edonia and ascend to the throne?"

"Because I don't have enough men for such investment and I'm certain is not so simple and demands to be planned and executed in details in its own time"

"If my husband finds out… he will never forgive you"

"Exactly and that's why everything shall be calculated with extreme caution, after all, it all have to look like I'm respecting the Pact of Peace your husband proposed and not attacking their king during the next conference…"

"Alright… let it be… so the next step is to convince my husband of such importance…"

"And our alliance will be stronger… and the victory will be on our side with your husband in the front line" the man spoke with mischief and stepped close to the woman who stepped away quickly

"Stay away from me! You have no right to touch me!"

The man grinned, "That was not the case a decade ago…"

"Get over it"

"I can't when your presence is so constant and no one seems to ever forget their first time…"

"It was my first time too but I do not keep thinking of it when now I am happily married!"

"Still I can't help but wonder how it would had been if we had married as years pass and you just keep getting better just like wine!" he spoke with a tease

Katarina smiled and then stared the man. He tried, but he couldn't read what was behind her eye. Mona Lisa's smile. He knew Katarina too well to know beautifully evil she could be. How cynic she could be. And as years passed she had definitely improved such skill. He was a man used to read people and tell what they wished to hear. That was a trait he and Katarina shared, the ability for acting. Dissimulation. Convincing. Ambiguous.

Katarina was dangerous and precious like a crystal. Influential. Extremely important to have her by his side.

"Thank you." She replied with a kind smile and left the location first

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

Katarina walked hurriedly through the corridors of the castle on her way to her chamber, worried that Christopher might have noticed her long absence.

She turned a corridor and heard a laughter. A female laughter coming from the library. She stopped immediately and hid behind the wall. The door was half open. She gave a peek to see who it was. Immediately her blood boiled. Her hatred gaze focused on the noblewoman wearing a green gown, visibly comfortable and happy in the presence of no more no less than Christopher.

She inhaled deeply, but her wish was to run immediately to them and ruin their pleasant moment. The more she watched, the more corrosive was her hatred. They were really very comfortable in each other's presence. Privacy.

She squeezed her hands. She could hear her own heartbeats. Tormented heartbeats.

"So Lady White is his new adventure! Bitch!" she thought bitterly.

There was a while since she stopped having intimacy with Christopher due to her current condition. They still shared the same bed, but he no longer had sight of her skin. Apparently, her man couldn't keep his dick into his pants anymore. Her legs started trembling in nervousness. She couldn't stand the thought of sharing him. She wanted to get in! ah she so wanted!

She so wished she could expose the damn bitch and have her dead. She's so love to see the damn bitch dead! Or any other that'd come to her way. To her man!

But she couldn't. She couldn't expose the bitch. She had no evidence of their affair. Exposing her would mean to expose him too and there would have consequences for him. Probably death penalty wouldn't be applied to him as he was a man, however there would have consequences that she wasn't willing to go through right now. She was too sensitive for that. She couldn't torture herself any longer watching them. She had to recollect herself and think her next action. And reaction. Silently she headed to their bedchamber.

(**)

"I really like talking to you Cath. Time flies when I'm with you, but it's getting late and I need to go back to my wife before she misses me too much"

"I understand Chris, I'm a married woman too and I don't want people to say untruths about us because of our friendship"

"I know. People can be very mean and spread in the wrong way that will be damaging for both of us"

"Exactly"

"However we should continue this discussion some other time, I did like your point of view on that matter of the book"

The woman smiled graciously, "I liked your point of view too"

(**)

She walked hurriedly. Each step heavily. Some tears escaped her eye line. Still, she didn't cry.

She entered the chamber. Her maidens were occupied watching her children, or she thought so. She heard a noise coming from the balcony.

"What are you doing here?" Katarina yelled as she crossed the balcony's door and saw her daughter Madeline

"I…I'm just… watching the view…" the little blonde girl replied scared

"No one enters my chambers in my absence! You know that!" the woman yelled out

"Pardon mother" she replied trembling to her feet. Anticipating her mother would beat her – as the usual.

"You only do stupidity. You are my greatest stupidity! Only serves torment me"

"Forgive me mother. I won't do that again…" the girl started crying

"Cut the crying stupid girl! You annoy me! Get the hell out of here bastard!"

The little girl quickly obeyed and ran towards the chamber's door. Crying. Feeling like trash. Her mother was a monster to her. Her youngest sister was never punished when she did wrong things. Why was she so different?

She turned a corridor and sat on the ground, hiding her face between her arms and knees. Crying. This time her mother didn't beat her, but that didn't diminish her sorrow.

She heard footsteps.

"Maddy?"

She heard the salvation voice, "Daddy!" she yelled in relief and hurried to his embrace. His loving embrace.

"Why are you crying?" Christopher asked softly

"Forgive me daddy"

"Forgive you for what?"

"I…I entered the chamber…" she spoke hiding her face on his chest

"What chamber?"

"Your chamber…"

"And is there a problem?"

She hesitated to answer

"Did you break anything there?"

She shook her head in denial

"So why are you crying for that?"

"Mother… she didn't like it" she spoke hesitantly with her voice trembling

He frowned not liking the image forming in his head, "Did she punish you?"

She shook her head again, "She yelled and called me stupid and bastard" she bursted into tears

Christopher inhaled deeply, hugging tighter, comforting the little girl. His precious girl, "You're not stupid my love. You're daddy's precious princess" he spoke lovingly as he continued hugging the little blonde.

Christopher Reed did love his children. All of them. He'd do anything to protect them and even give his life for them. However, somehow Madeline had a special charming on him. Her purity, her sweetness, her innocence. She was like the angel Angelique had sent to him to heal the wounds of losing the love of his life. Madeline – Maddy - then became the new love. The father love.

After comforting his little angel and taken her to her bedchamber, Christopher's face expression suddenly changed as he closed the door. Inhaling deeply, he thought of all the things the child had told him. Apparently, Katarina had been mistreating her again. No one would harm that little angel or any of his children, much less Katarina O'Gregon. He didn't fear her. He always faced her. He always imposed before her. And now that wouldn't be different. Maddy needed him.

Walking hurriedly to their chambers, he opened the door abruptly. His blood boiling. He was ready to confront Katarina once again.

"What the hell…" Katarina snapped when she heard the loud noise on the door, immediately seeing Christopher with a very serious demeanor.

"What the hell what?"

"Why did you enter that way? You want to scare me out…"

"You thought it was Maddy again? Were you ready to beat her this time?" he yelled angrily

"What the hell are you saying?"

"Don't play the fool on my Katarina! I know what you've done!"

"What she has done? What about what You have done?!" she yelled back

"What I have done?" he spoke in confusion

"Yes you bastard! You!"

"What have I done for you to throw your anger on an innocent child?"

"Now you play the fool on me…" she smirked

He stepped forward to her and stared her in the eyes. Both exchanging gazes of hatred. Animosity. Anger. Beastly. Though in a different connotation this time.

"You have been warned Katarina… I told you the next time you mistreated Maddy, I'd take her with me and leave you!"

"To be with your mistress?"

"What mistress?" he spoke puzzled

She smirked, "I saw you together… having a good time… imagine the scandal when the Grand Duke Reed would be exposed after leaving home, his prestigious faithful wife and some of their children to be with his married mistress? That would be awesome huh! The one who was supposed to give a good example would in fact give a good example… a good example of a bastard unfaithful liar!"

"I have no married mistress… it seems you're talking about yourself!"

"Myself?"

"Yes, Katarina O'Gregon. You! You're so proud of yourself… but I know what you have done!"

She swallowed, keeping her composure as much she could. Her heart pounding in her chest that seemed to explode any time with the tension.

"What are you talking about?"

"The bastard…"

"Albert's case again?" she spoke starting to feel dizzy

"For how long will you continue this play?" he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "This lie?"

She remained still as she felt her legs starting to weaken

"Trying to play the fool of me?" he continued

"I am not feeling alright…" she spoke holding her forehead

"Huh, how convenient! To fall sick when confronted with the truth"

"I really am not…" she didn't manage to finish her line as she suddenly lost her conscience

With a quick reflex, Christopher managed to hold his wife's body, preventing her fall.

"Kat… Katarina?" he tried to wake her up.

She remained unresponsive

"Somebody help!" he yelled placing her on the bed and quickly asked for help.

Running through the corridor he found one of Katarina's maidens, "Do you know if Vladimir is still in the castle?" he asked

"Yes, he is. In the west chambers"

"Go stay with Katarina. I'll go after him"

* * *

 **Talbot's Land**

It was George Talbot's birthday. He didn't expect to go back home and find the full house. His brothers, his sisters-in-law, his mother, Angely and Oliver all reunited to throw him a surprise party

"How dare you to do that with me!?" he spoke jokingly

"It was Olly's idea!" his mother spoke

"Olly's idea?"

"Yes. He said his papa deserved a party like his on your birthday"

"Oh really?" he spoke smiling to the boy who nodded back to him in confirmation, "How not to love this boy!" he added as he knelt in front of him to give him a long hug

"I hope you liked it…" the boy spoke

"I loved it! Thank you son!"

Angelique watched the family celebrate the occasion happily. She was so happy. A happiness she had felt a long time ago when her mother and grandmother were still alive. She never had the full house for a party or a birthday, but the unique presences of those two women were more than enough for her to feel like being part of a family.

Long time ago they had left her alone as fate had called them to watch out for her from the sky as her guard angels. During all those years she had celebrated a birthday once… During the time living with Christopher. During that year together, they had celebrated each other's birthday together. She still remembered how caring and special he made her feel that day. The promises exchanged. And the day they conceived Oliver. She still remembered something different had happened that birthday. Back then she didn't understand it, but forty weeks later she had the answer. Oliver was her birthday gift. The best gift she ever got. She loved him immensely and she just wanted him to be happy.

Since Oliver became present in her life, she became a stronger woman. A braver woman. She no longer was the scared sheep among the crowd. She still remained a reserved person. She still remained a painter that was slowly getting more ascension in her then hobby. Now she was the official painter of the royalty of Bohma - and just to imagine that once Christopher had told her to use her gift to make her living. Apparently she had been followed all Christopher's advises.

But now she wasn't the seventeen-year old girl. She was twenty-four years old now. A complete woman.

It was time to stop living by the shadow of the past. Her past.

It was time for her to give a better definition to her life, just like she did to her portraits. Slowly and carefully she should design a better path for her. The pursuit for the happiness that rarely had been made part of her life.

In six years she had felt the most powerful love of all – mother's love. For six years, her own desires had been postponed in order to give preference to Oliver's. In six years, she didn't feel so alone anymore and had gotten a new family. Maggy treated her like a daughter and Olly like a grandson. In the other hand, Oliver saw them as his family. In fact, they were all of family he had and could relate since she had been banned from her own birth family.

Nearly seven years have passed since she last heard of them. Saw them. The worst memories she had. The wounds that took a long time to heal. Not exactly, her physical wounds, but her soul's. She didn't miss them at all although she didn't wish them any bad luck. She just didn't miss them.

Oliver didn't deserve them as a family!

Seven years had passed since she had seen or have been in the lake manor. She wondered how it would be by now.

The lake manor… the fountain of her greatest wishes. Greatest memories. Greatest times.

The place that no longer was part of her life, but still lingered in her soul. Most probably she will never forget that place.

The moment in the lake was gone… it had to be gone!

Christopher had moved on with his life. He lived where he belonged. To who he belonged.

Silly of hers to ever think he was hers…

She wasn't seventeen anymore. It was time for her to move on with her life too.

In six years, George Talbot grew in her affection. Slowly. Gradually. Daily. A strong friendship that blossomed.

She learned they had more in common than she thought and both shared the same pain of losing loved ones and the love of their lives.

Devotedly George watched out for them. For Maggy. For his family, still he missed having one of his own.

Patiently he took care of Oliver like his own son since the pregnancy when he and his mother saved her life. From starve. From thirstiness. They gave her a shelter that now it just felt like home.

Now time seemed to want to kind of stop in that moment. With George.

He wasn't as handsome as Christopher. He wasn't as rich as Christopher. He wasn't influential as Christopher. She wasn't as beautiful as Katarina. They weren't prestigious as the Grand couple… But she never longed for that!

Her soul remained simple. George was simple despite his title.

He wasn't as caring as Christopher. He was more. He wasn't as passionate as Christopher. He was more. He wasn't dedicated as Christopher. He was more. Above all, George was honest, transparent. Something Christopher wasn't. She always felt that Christopher had something to hide. Back then, whatever he told her seemed to be logical. Six years later now it didn't seem to make much sense. He was running away, hiding.

Question was, hiding from the court or hiding from Katarina? Whatever it was, it didn't matter anymore. They now were public important people. Nothing simple.

Still, she would never forget Christopher. He had the mark to had been her first in everything – and only so far. And that was about to change.

"Thank you for everything" George spoke as they were sitting on the bench in front of the house they lived, admiring the rising moon in the night sky

"Thank You!" the redhead replied with a kind smile

"Thank me for what?"

"For saving me and for being what nobody have ever been to me and to Olly…"

"Nobody has a name?" he asked catching the subtleness in her lines

She laughed and let out a sigh, "That name has been repeated too much for the last six years… it's time to shall fade to black"

He remained motionless

"Once you told me you'd wait. And waited. Once you told me things and fulfilled all of them. You never made me feel led on. You proved you're a valuable man. A good soul."

He held her grip, "I've always wanted the best for you"

"I know…" she spoke closing her grip with his

"I never thought I'd feel this way again… That I'd fall in love again…"

"I never believed that was possible either…"

"In these six years I've had the certainty that you're the most precious woman, alongside my mother, of course!"

She laughed, "Absolutely! Your mother is unique!"

"And in six years more and more I infatuate with you… that sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode with so much love I have within and I so want to share it with you"

She smiled, "I'm ready for it! I want it all with you!" she spoke with conviction

The man couldn't help the large smile on his face, "Want it all?"

"Yes! Everything you have to offer. Everything I have to offer."

"Even a family?"

"Especially a family! Olly is too big and often I have baby blues…and a few times he confessed to me he wants a sibling because sometimes he feels lonely… but that will come with the time. We don't need to be in a hurry either!"

"Of course! I've waited too long to enjoy you for too little time…I want to court you for as long as you want me to, then we engage, marry and then finally start our family..."

"One step at a time"

"Yes, one step at a time!"

The couple shared mutual nervousness. It had been a long time since they had felt the butterflies in the stomach. So long, that they even doubted they'd ever feel those again.

Slowly they leaned closer their faces. Gradually Angelique surpassed the memories of Christopher when he was the one in the place of George. She didn't want it, but she couldn't help but to remember the only experience she had. She had to let it go.

Their lips touched lightly. Gently moving. Awkward as every first kiss.

George was her second man, but he was the first after Christopher…

The moment at the lake slowly vanishing within the new freeze of time.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

"Hmmm"

They heard a moan and looked at the bed

"She's regaining her conscience" said Vladimir as he stood on the bed side to check on Katarina

Christopher remained still, only watching from his armchair near the window.

"What are you doing here?" the brunette asked widening her eyes as she spotted Vladimir

"I came to check on you"

She immediately sat on the bed, "Why?"

"You lost your conscience"

"Get the hell out of here!" she ordered him still without seeing Christopher in there. Watching her silently.

"I can see your royal highness is feeling better"

"Yes I am. Get the hell out and never come back! Ah and call my husband…"

"I'm here" Christopher broke his silence

Katarina's lips parted with the scare, "Chris…"

"What manners are those in mistreating Doctor Vladimir for his care?" the grand duke spoke standing up

She cleared her throat

"It's alright your highness, but I'm already used to spoiled brats"

Christopher laughed

"I hate doctors!" she shouted

"You hate doctors or you hate me?" Vladimir thought

"Well, hate or no hate. You need to be examined"

"I do not need to be examined. This mor… this man is not going to touch me. I am fine!"

"So why did you faint? Or were you just pretending to fall sick to stop the argument?" Christopher replied

"I only felt sick. That is all!"

"You've been sick a lot lately. You shall be examined"

Katarina inhaled, contradicted. Not having any option, she only had to obey to her husband's demand.

Vladimir watching the couple's discussion, kept himself in silence. Realizing the couple wasn't in a good phase.

"I don't have much to say about your health besides that it's very often such symptoms in your current condition" the blond man spoke

"What condition?" Christopher asked

Katarina swallowed, holding her breath. Vladimir quickly exchanged gazes with her, noticing her distress. He liked it. It was about time to have in his hands the woman that once reined in his dreams. He couldn't help the thought that she was hiding it because the child wasn't her husband's – again.

"The condition of advanced pregnancy" the blond doctor replied calmly

"What?"

Katarina looked down

"Is that true, Kat?" Christopher questioned her

Hesitantly she nodded in confirmation

"And why didn't you tell me before?"

"You said you did not want any more children…"

"And when did you intend to me that? If you had the intention to tell me anything…"

"I was waiting for the right time"

"Waiting for the right time? When would be the right time then?"

She waited a while before answering him, "When we would be in peaceful terms…"

"Ah, really?"

"You know we have argued often lately…"

"Of course! We have disagreements, especially about our children, in specific Maddy"

Katarina looked briefly at Vladimir who remained in silence during another discussion of the couple.

"If we have to discuss anything, it is better not doing it in front of the doctor who has nothing to do with our situation" she spoke diplomatically avoiding the blond man's gaze

Christopher took a breath. He agreed with her.

"I'm sorry Vladimir you had to witness all of that"

"It's alright. People argue. Especially couples"

"Tell me about it!" Christopher agreed

"I understand you two might be having differences. I myself am married for ten years and I know parents have disagreements about children's education. In my case, I only had male children and that majority of men in the same house sometimes drives my wife crazy. Unfortunately, life didn't allow me to have a daughter so things could be more balanced at home… although I'm sure there's love between you two and you will fix things up for the sake of your children" the man spoke cynically

Katarina smiled faintly. Cinically.

"You're correct. Despite Katarina had hidden such matter from me, I'd never neglect any of my children. I said I didn't plan to have more children, but that didn't mean I'd reject in case of unplanned pregnancy as it's the case now"

"I beg your forgiveness if I took your words too literally… now you know we will be parents again"

After that tense evening, Christopher and Katarina's disagreement was postponed due to her sensitivity in that pregnancy.

Knowing the real motive of her sickness interrupted their postpone to return home. And Katarina so wished for that. She needed to stay away from Vladimir.

In the morning of their departure, Katarina was saying goodbyes to her sister. When she left the chamber, she felt someone grabbing her arm and taking her to a private area.

"Let go of me!" she demanded

"I will let you go, but only when you pay me what you owe me"

"I do not owe you anything! My husband already paid your services!"

"I'm not talking about those services, your royal highness"

"I repeat, I do not owe you anything!"

"Much the contrary milady! Much the contrary… as far as I remember, you keep my blood with you and earlier I managed to take a look in our precious little girl. How beautiful she is… our sin…"

"Shut up! You have no right to speak that way!"

"Why not? I only spoke truths…"

"A truth that does not belong to you! Never did!"

"So you'd better treat her better. I heard you made my little girl cry"

"She is not yours!"

He smirked, "No? Is that the same case with your current one?" he spoke sarcastically pointing at her belly

"This is my husband's child! You heard why I hid it from him… not that I owe you any explanation on the matter either…"

He gave a shrug "But Madeline… Maddy isn't!"

"What do you want?" she spoke feeling cornered

"I want to have the chance to see her closer and see better my genes on her…from afar I could see that we made a very beautiful masterpiece!"

"No way! We had a deal and it is still valid! Your proximity is forbidden!"

"Oh yes, but it's been a long time since we made the pact…it's about time to update some clauses…"

"What is your new clause?" she spoke direct to the point

"So quick and sharp like that?"

"I do not have much time to spend your bullshit. So, say it!"

"Of course. I forgot milady is now a woman full of responsibilities… who'd say I'd see that horny brunette so high in the kingdom…Almost like a queen…"

She slapped his face

"You shall respect me! Watch your mouth in the way you speak about me!"

"I'm sorry… it wasn't my true intention to hurt your feelings…if you have any…"

She rolled her eyes giving him her back

He pulled her by the arm, "You're not going anywhere before listening to me!"

"I heard enough!"

"Not enough! It will never be enough while I keep your little dirty secrets with me! I wonder what would Christopher Reed say if he learned that 'his' eldest daughter isn't in fact his? When she was the bait to trap him! Or more importantly…"

"Enough! Just say what you want!" Katarina shouted

The blond man grinned with mischief, "You know what I want"

"Me? No way! Your party is over…long ago!"

"No…not that. I've had it too much…not a big deal anymore"

Katarina bit her lips bitterly

"Your royal highness is now one of the most influent people in the kingdom. You and your husband only come after the royal family in importance. The higher you go, the more you receive!"

"Money, is that what you want?"

"Yes milady… the only thing that is never too much…the more the better! As you know I have lots of expenses… I have the clinic, my family… I need a monthly salary"

She smirked, "Are you out of your mind? I will not bank you!"

"I wonder what would Christopher Reed say if he ever learned that his stunning current wife in fact ordered the assassination of his beloved late wife? Do you want me to continue unveiling your black list?"

Bitterly, Katarina removed one of her rings. A gold sapphire ring and delivered it to him.

"It is true gem. You can verify later. That is all I have with me. It covers a few salaries, unless you do not waste your money with stupidity, then that will not be my problem!"

"You know this is just the beginning" he spoke with a threatening tone

Katarina stared him. She didn't like his blackmail, but she only had to succumb to his threat. For now. More days or less days, she would find a better way to keep Vladimir silent…Forever.

(*)

The Grand family returned to Baveen. Six months later Katarina gave birth to a blond and brown-eyed boy. This time, the blond child did have Christopher's traits and she made sure to take advantage on that. Once again, she renewed her allegation that Maddy was Christopher's daughter. Once again, she managed to implant the doubt in Christopher's implies that Maddy wasn't his.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Thank you for reading this story everyone. I'm glad to say I have rescued the delight in writing, especially this story that is so off to my usual grounds. At least, I feel that way.  
**

 **We are finally close to the final happenings of the 18th century. There's a lot to come, so we still have some time appreciating the past before we jump to the 21st century. The century that is the harvest of their past.**

 **For now, Christopher and Pierce are the ones who Christ and Piers used to be before becoming the full-time BSAA soldiers. Nearly away from romance, no normal life nor family. Basically, only workaholics.**

 **For now, I'm building the roots of their future personas.**

 **So I won't prolong myself too much and as the usual...**

 **Stay Tuned!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Current Models for the 18th**

 **Katarina:** **Merve Boluğur**

 **Christopher:** ** **Ekin Koç****

 ** **Angelique: Some redhead model from google****


	24. Chapter 24

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Dungeon, Castle of Baveen**

Albert Walker, a tall, blond and blue-eyed man, from a noble family have been imprisoned for over two years. Accusation: witchcraft.

The man was sitting on the ground when he heard footsteps in the corridor and the guards who watched him, leaving as they obeyed to a woman's order.

He waited until the woman would present herself in front of his cell. He grinned as he saw the beautiful brunette.

"Albert Walker… the sorcerer… the scientist!" she spoke sarcastically

"Am I free to die?" he replied with irony

She laughed, "If I wanted you dead, we would not having this conversation by now"

He remained in silence

"Are you willing to talk now?"

"Are you willing to make a deal now?"

"It depends on what just like all the other times"

"Tired of being a grand duchess…only one level below the royal family?"

She laughed again

"I can smell your ambition…"

"I have merit to be who I am. To be where I am!"

"Still not enough…" he paused to observe her reaction, "You want more…"

"I deserve more!"

"I suppose! It must not be easy to someone who almost became a queen!"

"Who told you that?"

He laughed with mischief, "People talk… a lot… especially when there's no one around…and someone to listen to them…"

"Gossip!"

"Yet, it's good to be updated"

She remained in silence staring him

"Ah, that sound… the delicious sound of the consented silence! You surely are ready for the deal"

"I am always open to good deals…"

"It's pretty much admirable what a beautiful woman like you can do and obtain with the power of persuasion you have…orally…or physically" he spoke ambiguous

She smiled cynically, catching the double meaning in his lines

"You're a smart woman!"

"If you think that your compliments will take you out of here, you are roundly wrong!" she interrupted him

"I know and that was not the intention. I was just mesmerizing the fact that you managed to enlace a man like Christopher… have become an authority and rules the country through the king without anyone ever suspecting of it. probably not even himself. That's impressive! Not a woman of a kind! And in so little time. Ten years ago you were a bubble noblewoman with a rebel spirit seeking for freedom…"

"A freedom that did not come"

"Yet, my dear…yet…and that's the deal I have to offer you"

"How?"

He stood up from the ground and walked over the cell's bars. Katarina remained still.

"The especial mines at the border of Arthena with Edonia"

"What about it? Gems? Ore? How can that give me the freedom?"

He shook his head with a mischievous gaze, "No ore, no gems, but certainly will give you all you want and deserve!"

She stared him waiting for a better explanation

"Power!" he added

She laughed loud, "What is so valuable in there that can give me power?" she asked incredulous

"I'm a 'sorcerer'. I tell the miracle but don't say the saint"

She laughed with disdain, "No deal then!" she spoke walking away

"It must still hurt to be an almost anything" he yelled out

Katarina stopped half way

"Almost loved by Christopher Reed, almost unique, almost free, almost a queen…"

She turned her back to stare the man, resented

"Do you have knowledge on how to handle parasites? If you do, I take it all back and apologize for insulting your brilliance"

Katarina remained staring the man and let out a sigh

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Garden**

Angelique had finished giving classes to her students and was on her way to leave the castle to go home when she spotted Madeline sitting alone under a tree.

Two years had passed since she had met Christopher's eldest daughter who was a very close friend to Oliver. Both children had no idea they shared more than just friendship. They used to spend a good time whenever Madeline came to visit her aunt Elizabeth.

For two years, Angelique managed to escape the eyes of Christopher whenever he was in the castle or in town. In those two years, the redhead and the little blonde acquired a good relationship. Surprisingly, or not, none of her parents had related her name to Christopher's first wife.

"Hello Maddy"

"Hello" the little blonde girl replied with a saddened tone

"What happened for you to be here all alone?" the redhead asked as she sat next to the girl

"I'm sad Angely…"

"Why?"

The girl remained hesitant

"You know you can trust me, don't you?" Angelique spoke with a calm tone

Madeline nodded her head in confirmation, "I know, but…"

Angelique took the girl's grip, "You know you can count on me for anything… if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know"

"I know Angely, but there's nothing you can do for me about it"

"You'll know only if you tell me…"

"I know it…" the girl spoke with conviction and before Angelique could reply the girl continued, "My parents are moving to Arthena…mother, my siblings and I will go first…and I don't want that!"

"Oh…"

"I don't want to go with her!"

"Why not? Children stay with their mother…"

Madeline looked down fighting her tears, "That's so wrong!" she shouted covering her face between her knees

Angelique noticing the girl's sadness took her into an embrace of support. Of comfort. She could sense there was something else the girl wasn't speaking.

In fact, in two years, she had had the chance to know the girl at some extent and many times she could see her own young persona in the little girl. Shy, reserved, quiet, and her tendency to isolate.

Many were the times she had wondered if the girl shared the same history as her at the same age.

"You prefer going with your father?"

The girl nodded in confirmation

Angelique wasn't sure if she should go deeper in that matter. She could already make some guesses from the girl's behavior.

"Maddy, why don't you say it to him? Maybe he will listen to you…" Angelique spoke with a caring tone

"Because he's the one who decided that… and he's always busy so I'd be a trouble for him…"

"Don't say it my little girl. I'm sure Christopher would listen to you"

"How can you be so sure? Do you know him?"

Angelique swallowed hard with the questioning. She wasn't ready for that, "From what I've heard about him… he seems to be an understanding man…" she spoke trembling her voice in distress

Madeline remained in silence. They remained in silence for a while.

"Angely…"

"Yes"

"Would you do me a favor?"

"Sure!"

"Could you please talk to my father?"

Angelique's eyes widened. Her heart nearly jumped out from her chest in scare, "What? Me?"

"Yes, you… didn't you say I could count on you? Or you didn't really mean that?" the girl couldn't help her disappointment

The redhead bit her lips in distress. That was an uncomfortable situation. Not for the girl who definitely needed her, but for herself and her past with the grand duke.

No matter how much Angelique tried to avoid that man. Something always seemed to take her to him…

* * *

 **Castle of Baveen, Royal Chambers**

Katarina and her favorite lady-in-waiting were packing the luggage when the maiden politely asked about the paintings Christopher keeps.

"Ah that trash? I do not know why Christopher insisting in keeping it. They only serve to keep dust and precious space!" Katarina spoke rolling her eyes

"So will your husband take that to the new location too?"

"Do you have any doubts?"

"Not at all… I noticed your husband cannot let go of it, although I agree there are some beautiful paintings…"

"I forbid you to compliment that trash in my presence! It is already enough having it from Christopher all these years!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset milady"

"Angelique Stafford is dead but her trash is very much alive!" Katarina commented bitterly

"So… have you been to Arthena?" the maiden asked changing subjects

"Yes, a couple of times. Christopher has a land there… a gift from Charles' father to his father or something…"

"Are you going to move to his land?"

"Yes. The manor is simpler but - I do not intend to stay long there" she thought, "Yes, but it suits our needs…" she replied

"By the way, the new location will keep you away from the not so pleasant company of Vladimir"

"I would say it was a competent company. And for my real purpose, which was to have a child he was quite adequate," Katarina replied

"Ah... men are all smart, cunning and insightful... until a woman invites them to bed." commented the lady of company

Katarina smiled in agreement

"By the way, your highness has already given up the idea of Christopher and that woman... Well, you know..."

"If Christopher gave his wife the attention he gives to any other woman, I would not have had to do all I have done... I must stick to my plan anyway, Lucy. When Christopher takes the throne and comes to me work around the fragile situation between Bohma and especially Edonia… I will make sure that I will head straight for the castle and lock the kingdom up."

"But I thought Charles would…"

"More than ever, I will stand up for myself and be made their queen or even better… their empress!"

"But your husband doesn't seem to share the same goal…"

Katarina laughed, "He will!"

"How?"

"Wait and see my dear Lucy, watch me!" said the grand duchess with determination

* * *

 _Nine years have passed since I have last been here. In the Lake Manor. The place where I dreamed the pinkest plans. The pinkest dreams. The pinkest wishes._

 _The lake is still so clean and blue. The forests are still so green this time of the year. The birds still chirp. The wind still so fresh._

 _Almost as fresh as my own memories. My own sensations._

 _Being here is like the time still remains frozen._

 _The barn is still the same, except that there is no horse._

 _The house seems quite abandoned. Obviously. My father never really showed interest for this property._

 _I don't even know why my memories keep being dragged to this place!_

 _But since that day and the conversation with Maddy, I felt like I needed to come here and face again myself realistically. I know I'm in debt with him! My conscience never allows me to forget it no matter how hard I try to ignore it._

 _Every time I look at Oliver, my heavy conscience slams my brain and sometimes it causes me a headache. A heartache…_

 _Every time he lands in town is the same headache. Heartache! The same drama of hide and seek. I'm actually getting tired of that!_

 _Standing here before this manor, still unable to enter, reminds me the time is not so frozen. Actually, is not frozen at all!_

 _The woman standing here before this manor has changed. Has grown up. has matured. The woman standing here is now engaged to the most loving man!_

 _The woman standing here is a mother…_

 _The mother of the child of the man that once lived in there…here…_

 _The man that once I saved from drowning in that same lake. Surely not the same waters…_

 _The man that once I helped saving his life. The same man that took my life away. My crappy life away. Back then, I didn't see it that way, but now…_

 _I know it was somehow worth it._

 _They say there are people that are the journey and others that are the final destination._

 _That knight seemly the journey and George my final destination._

 _That knight the eternal journey as we have a son… Olly. The best part of my life! The best part of me. The best part of us…_

 _Now this woman have a second promise to fulfill… I promised Maddy I'd think about her request._

 _But for that I need to face this! To face me! To face my past… and my past starts right here…_

Angelique slowly opened the door. She still had a copy of the keys. She couldn't see much except the parts that the outside light illuminated. She blinked her eyes a few times. Was she seeing it correctly?

The interiors seemed clean… well…clean for an abandoned house. She wondered who had done it.

She didn't even have time to sink in her surprise as she heard footsteps outside the manor.

Before she could hide, her eyes widened and her legs weakened when she saw the shadow of a man standing in the open door.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **I'd like to thank everyone out there reading the story! You guys give me the force to continue improving. And at some extent the fic will finally get more into RE world! :D**

 **This piece is not just a romance/drama story, it couldn't only be that either.**

 **I hope you continue enjoying the journey :D**

 **Stay tuned!**


	25. Chapter 25

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Lake Manor**

"Angely?"

"Pierce!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise

Angelique looked briefly to the side, thinking of an answer. Immediately she spotted the lake behind him, "I heard about the lake and I came to see it… I needed some inspiration"

"Oh… it's a beautiful lake, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is!"

"I hope it has inspired you enough as you have invaded a private area"

She laughed in distress, "It wasn't my intention… I didn't know the lake is private…"

"Not the lake. The manor"

"Oh, right! You're right… I… I just wondered who lived here as I got thirsty and…"

"Nobody lives here"

"So how can it be private?"

He laughed in distress, "It's a long story… I just came to check the manor…"

"King's order?"

"More or less…"

She laughed slightly, "Why all the mystery? It's not like I'm going to tell anyone such secret…"

"It is a secret!"

"Oh…alright. Your secret. I'm sorry…I didn't want to sound nosy"

"You are nosy. Can you explain to me how you unlocked the doors?"

She swallowed hard. She had to think really fast to give a plausible answer. Inhaling and letting out a long sigh, "I'll tell you the truth…"

"You'd better or I shall arrest you…"

"I had a friend that was part of the family that lived here…"

"Angelique?"

She nodded, "Yes… Angelique Stafford… she gave me a copy"

"When?"

"A long time ago…"

"Before she died?"

Angelique widened her eyes, "She died?"

"Yes, didn't you know it?"

"No! When?"

"Oh that was a long time ago… nine years ago more precisely"

The redhead remained motionless. Sinking in the news. Was that what Christopher made up about her so he could marry Katarina?

"Is that what he told you?" she asked shaking in distress

"Her father? Yes. He confirmed her death to a royal witness"

Of course he did. He banned her from the family! No doubt, he'd consider her dead. Actually, he had yelled that to her face.

"So why are you here? Were you friends with the family too?"

He cleared his throat, "That's the part I can't tell you"

"Why not? You're already telling me! Just finish it… I promise I'll keep my lips sealed!"

"Nosy!"

"I just want to understand what happened to my friend… I think I deserve to know that. It doesn't seem logic you being here if you weren't friends…."

Pierce grinned. The duke seemed thoughtful as he walked to the side with his hands on the sides of his waist, "Speaking about merit… I think it's about time we having this conversation… no one around…"

"What do you mean?" she asked apprehensive

He turned to her, "It's been a while since I have been thinking about it"

"About what?"

"You"

"Me?"

"And your relation with Christopher" he stepped closer to her, "Angely Reed… or should I say Angelique Stafford?"

She swallowed

"It's quite intriguing combining all the little evidences and fitting them into this puzzle…"

"I don't know where you want to go with this… If you have something to say, just say it"

"I don't like prolonging myself, it's not a trait of mine but as a royal officer it's my job to know how to read people, presume what they're thinking, feeling, to decipher the reasons behind their actions. It's part of the strategy and for that it takes time to study properly"

She remained in silence listening to him attentively

"I have been observing you since you came in to the castle. Since the first day, I thought you were familiar. It took me a while to examine my memories. Six years ago, a redhead girl, you, came to the castle looking for Christopher. At that time, he had already been relocated to Baveen. I didn't tell that detail for personal reasons and as you didn't ask further questions either, things remained that way until you were hired at the official painter of the royal family. I recognized your alias name, Angely Reed, to be the same name of Christopher's presumably dead first wife. Presumed I say here as I stand before her, before you… A redhead, green eyes, painter and has the keys of the Lake Manor, is it too much of a coincidence?"

Angelique inhaled and let out a sigh. She was aware she was a bad liar and it would be pointless to try to deny that right now, "So why did you keep your silence all this time?"

"For the same reasons I did in the past and I don't think you really want it out either as I have noticed you tend to avoid Christopher or am I wrong?"

She remained speechless, looking away.

So Christopher believed she was dead all this long. He believed her family's false statement after all they had been through together. He should've known better. He should've known they could be lying. He should've known…

"Do you intend to keep things that way?"

"Yes, especially because there are children involved. They don't need unnecessary pain when the adults involved have moved on with their lives"

"For nine years Christopher believes I'm dead. He has a stunning wife and has ascended in life"

"Though he never forgot you, reason why I'm here… watching for his memories – his sweet memories"

"Not sweet when they're all a bunch of lies! Faded illusions!"

"Is that how you feel about it?"

"I don't have to give you explanations"

"Absolutely! I was just saying it…"

"So we remain like that. the children don't need to suffer"

"What about Oliver?"

"What about him?"

He gasped, "They get along. Father and son get along…"

"George is the father!"

"Step-father… Oliver was the reason you came to the castle six years ago"

"You should've had told me I was dead! That would've had prevented this conversation or any trouble as I would've had changed my name!"

"You can change your name but not your past. You cannot change it's Christopher's genes in that boys' veins!"

"So what? I thought you wanted to keep all in secret!"

"So what? I'm the one your manors' maintenance and away from intruders! I'm the one watching for my friend's grief! I'm the one who lost the woman of my life because of you!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you!"

"Christopher buys the bullshit and I'm the one to blame?"

"Yes, you are!"

"Why?"

"Because you're the one who walked away!"

"I didn't walk away!"

"Yes you did!"

Angelique started feeling pissed and to stop that confrontation she tried to pass by him

"Don't be a coward and listen to me…"

"You listen to me!" she raised her voice, "I'm not coward. He cheated on me! He made me a fool! He believed my family's lie even knowing they never cared for me! They were against us! He should've known I could still be alive, but no! He didn't even bother to look for me! He preferred that whore!"

"How dare you call her like that!"

"I do call her whatever I want because that's what she is, a fucking whore! A monster of mother! She's lucky I don't tell the world how much of a bad mother she is! I feel so sorry for Maddy that you have no idea how much my heart is still bleeding for her plead! For her I'm here, willing to face that asshole! And you – the duke and so called friend – you're no better than any of them because you are her accomplice! You know Maddy suffers and you don't move a finger to protect her like she deserves! If the love of your life is that stunning bitch, you two are perfect to each other! So now get the hell out of my land, your business is done… Ah and tell the grand duke to watch out better for his daughter and don't let her alone with that witch!" she yelled out and slammed the door on his face

Ah she so needed to take that all from her chest. So many years she kept that all inside of her. she so needed that vent! She was aware that duke was married to Elizabeth, such a loving woman, but she could not tolerate that man defending the other bitch and even blamed her for his dump. The brunette bitch… apparently a woman who had men crawling to her feet. And it was a truth as she had head of stories about her past. People's talk. She also had noticed how some men desired the grand duchess. A grand bitch!

Angelique was tired of people doing and telling her whatever they wanted as if she was nothing nor had feelings too. She was not a scared child anymore, nor the unprotected teenager. She was now a woman!

(*)

Pierce let out a heavy sigh as he felt the wind of the slammed door on his face and the loud noise in his ears. How daring was that girl!

She was nothing sweet like Christopher used to say. She was spicy, temperamental and bitter like him, or even like Katarina. Maybe Christopher had a taste for rebels.

How irritating that girl was! She had no right speaking with him that way.

All right, he had no right in throwing his frustrations on her either, and that was the reason why he respected the closed door. Still she had gone too far speaking that way about Katarina. Though, he could understand. She was jealous. He had been jealous himself too, several times. However, what she had spoken about Madeline got him worried. Thoughtful. Reflexive. Several minutes had passed. He knocked politely on the door.

"Go away!" the girl yelled out from inside

"I want to talk to you in peaceful terms"

"I have nothing to talk to you"

"Yes you do… about Maddy"

Sometime later he heard a click on the door. He opened the door slowly.

"Before you throw anything at me, I want to apologize for all those things I told you. I had no right to say those things…but you went too far as well…"

"I don't take it back! I said no lies"

"You said no lie but…" he made a pause, "Never mind… I just want to talk about Maddy"

"She said you're her godfather"

"That's correct"

"And that you and your wife know she's not happy"

"We try our best to watch for her but she lives in Baveen with her parents. We don't spend much time with her as much we'd like…"

"I know it's a delicate situation but it's a little girl's safety we're talking about! I have seen the terrible drawings and paintings she creates. Her sad eyes, her scared demeanor…the bruises… She's even learning how to be an accomplice to Katarina's lies by saying she got hurt playing… is that how you love and care for that innocent child?"

"We're not her parents…" he spoke with a saddened voice

"But you are close to her father, the man she truly trusts!"

"She told you that?"

"She told me things and I made the picture, but I don't think I misjudging"

"You're not, but it's Katarina O'Gregon we're talking about. She gets all she wants!"

"I don't think Maddy asked for that cruel mother, no matter what her name is!"

"And what do you want me to do?"

"Talk to Christopher! Tell him to watch out better for Maddy! If Christopher is somehow a part of the good man and defender I met… I know he will go against Katarina O'Gregon! And he seems to be the only one that woman seems to obey…"

"Yeah, but for how long? Katarina has changed significantly!"

"But her children are in danger, especially Maddy who seems to be her punchbag! Is that what you want for her?"

"You and Christopher share the saving spirit…"

"I'm a survivor Pierce! You have no idea what I have been through and especially in Maddy's age!"

"You can relate to her…"

"And that's why if you don't do anything… I'm willing to break my silence and face Christopher and Katarina. One thing is for certain, I'm not scared of any of them, much less of Katarina! She has a reputation and she lives for it… she preaches for family care and women's rights, such a scandal could be bad for her status…"

"That could be your death penalty too! I don't think you want to leave Oliver orphan…"

"Surely not! And that's why he is the secure option"

"Katarina cannot know about Oliver"

"And I don't intend to! Maddy is the subject"

"But if you talk to him, he will figure it all out and that would be a tremendous scandal!"

She nodded in agreement, "That's why I'm humbly asking you to talk to him…expose things to him, I'm sure he will listen to you!"

He swallowed thoughtful

"And if you care so much about Katarina…maybe you'd want to save her from herself…"

They exchanged gazes, then he nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Early Morning**

"Christopher, are you there?"

The soft knock on his door and hissed whisper startled the grand duke as he had been standing by the window thinking of Cathlyn. It was as if his thoughts had conjured her up.

He opened his door a fraction and peered out, nothing that there was no one else about, "Yes? Is something amiss?"

"Er, no, not exactly, but I… I'm afraid I need your help. Could you possibly come into my chamber for a moment? Without anyone seeing you of course"

Christopher wanted to say no as he definitely didn't want to go anywhere near her bedchamber, but if she genuinely needed help, how could he refuse?

"Give me a minute and I'll be there" he replied gruffly and shut the door on her while he went to pull on his boots

Damnation, what was she up to now? For two years, they had shared mutual attraction, however both respected their marriages. For two years she had catch a cold, as he remained firm, although now that she was a widow…

Her door was slightly ajar so he entered quickly and shut it before anyone else appeared on the landing. He turned around and was astonished to find Cathlyn standing on the chair, "What the hell…? I mean, beg your pardon, but what on earth are you doing?"

The woman giggled, a delightful sound that almost had him reaching up to put his hands round her tiny waist and lifting her down into his arms, "I'm sorry, it must be a bit odd… but it's necessary. I need your help to pin up my hem. Would you mind? I simply can't manage it on my own, at least not if it's to be straight and I did find any maiden to help me. I'm not that important here…"

"Oh, I see. Well, I can't say I've ever done it before so it may not be any straighter, but I'll give it a try"

"Thank you. Here, take these" she bent down to hand him a paper full of pins, which the dressmaker must have included when she bought the dress

Christopher saw now that she was wearing a black silk and it seemed to fir her perfectly everywhere else, hugging her delightful curves. He looked away from those, tempting as they were. Her stunning figure was one of the reasons he had spent any time at all in Katarina's company – and Cathlyn's apparently – for some time. And look where that had led him…

"So you've managed to alter it?" he asked, kneeling on the floor beside her and grabbing a handful of material

"Yes, I had no trouble with that. It's just the hem, which I can't reach myself. No, wait, not like that. like this, if you please" she showed him how to fold the material up twice and make it even, or as even as he could possibly manage, which probably wasn't perfect

Christopher worked his way round the bottom of her gown, getting more than one glimpse of her slim ankles and dainty feet. She was only wearing stockings, no shoes, and seeing her like that felt incredibly intimate, even though she was fully dressed and no skin was on display. He shook his head at himself. He must be going soft in the head if he was admiring her feet now.

"So you're moving to Arthena next weekend?" she asked randomly

"Yes. I will"

"I miss there. I wish I could go back and live there again, but women don't have that much of permission to do whatever they want, not even as a widow…"

"You really like that place?"

"Yes, don't you?"

"Not really…"

"Why not?"

"I don't know… I just don't like it"

"But you have a land there, don't you?"

"Yes I do, but I never really lived there… until now"

"I see… Is that the reason why you're seem sad lately?"

He let out a sigh, "That too"

"What else does concern you? If you want to talk…"

"I love talking to you Cath… you and my late wife are the only ones that I have been able to open up to…"

"I'm glad to know I can be a good shelter for you…"

"Yes you are!"

She blushed, "So what else is of your concern?"

"Don't tell that to anyone, but I'll go on a march to Edonia soon"

"A march to Edonia?"

"Yes"

"So that's why you're moving to Arthena…the boarders…"

"Yeah something like that… and there it is, all done" he declared and stood up. Without thinking, he reached up his hands and lifted her off the chair, setting her down right in front of him. Her chest brushed against his, sending a frisson of desire shooting though him. They were standing so close he had a sudden urge to kiss her perfect lips. He took a step back in order to put some distance between them. This wouldn't do.

"Thank you, but would you mind doing the other one as well, please?"

"What?"

Christopher had still been trying to conquer his desire to kiss her and at first, her question didn't penetrate.

"The other gown, the woolen one – it needs to be hemmed up too. Will you help me?"

Cathlyn was looking up at him with those extraordinary eyes, like silvery diamonds, and although he knew it would be better if he left right now, he found it hard to refuse.

"Very well" he said

"Then close your eyes for a moment, please"

He did as she asked, but as he listened to the shushing noise of the silk material when she discarded the first gown, he had to clench his fists to stop himself from peeking. He had seen her in her shift once before and had no trouble recalling what she looked like, but he had dearly like to see her that way again. He shouldn't. He mustn't. _I must stay strong!_

So far, she had stuck to her word and made no demands upon him. He couldn't afford to compromise her any further than was necessary. But dear Lord, he so wanted to kiss her.

Cathlyn leaned against the door after she had bolted it shut behind Christopher's retreating back. She found that she was shaking, just from having been in the same room as him. And that moment when they had been standing so close, she had thought he was going to kiss and… Lord help her, but she had wanted him to. She was in a bad way. But if nothing else, this proved that she really did love the man and so wished he could set him free from Katarina.

She put her forehead against the cool of wood of the doorframe. Sadly, he was married and devastatingly handsome. She was suddenly extremely conscious of his glance at her as she turned to face him.

She didn't even have the chance to react as he leaned forward and kissed her. It was deliberate – his soft mouth had been aiming for hers, no doubt about it. She froze, unable to move so much as a muscle while his lips caressed hers. It felt wonderful, this small touch sending waves of awareness right down to her toes, but she didn't reciprocate. She couldn't; didn't know how even if she had want to. Which she most certainly didn't, right?

But she did.

Dear Lord, she was allowing him to kiss, which was tantamount to an invitation to… she drew in a sharp breath, "Christopher!"

He held up his hands in a gesture of peace, "I'm sorry. I know… I shouldn't have done that, but it was just too tempting. Please, forget that happened"

She glowered at him. That was easy for him to say. He probably went round kissing women all the time even been married so one more wouldn't make a difference. In fact, she knew from experience that he did. But it was different for her. How could she be able to forget it?

Disappointment flooded her. So this was what she had condemned herself to with her actions – being kissed by a man who didn't mean anything by it, who thought her fair game. She crossed her arms over her chest, belatedly realizing that her shift may be somewhat see-through, and waited to see what had would do next.

"Really, I apologize" he said, walking away, "I'll go back to my chamber"

Not wasting any more second, she stepped away from the door and allowed him to leave.

He walked hurriedly through the corridor. He couldn't stop himself from remembering the feel of her luscious mouth against his. Seemingly innocent, yet tempting beyond belief. He had wanted to do it again. Pull her into his arms and hold her close. Stroke her velvet skin and bury his fingers in her lovely hair… what an imbecile.

No. what was he thinking? He was married. To Katarina! Obviously, they had ups and downs during those 9 years of marriage and they were going through another down moment currently due to their divergences of opinions about Albert and few other subjects.

The first time he had seen her was when they bumped into each other one day in the castle of Bohma. Her husband was still alive. It seemed ridiculously cliché, falling in love at first sight, but once he set eyes on her, he completed forgot both were married, forbidden people.

And that was it – forbidden. They were forbidden to each other. They weren't free. They were wrong.

He opened the doors realizing he opened the wrong doors as he entered the art gallery of the castle. Walking slowly he observed every painting of the royal family. Recent works. That traces, so familiar to him. So faithful to reality. He walked until a particular one, the ink still seemly fresh. He frowned, confused. Intrigued.

"Angely Reed…" he whispered reading the signature. Such a familiar calligraphy, "That can't be…That's impossible!" he spoke to himself intrigued

 _Until that day he had never had the time to pass by the castle's art gallery..._

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Thank you everyone for reading**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	26. For Maddy

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Green Hills, Bohma**

" _Her father confirmed her death to a royal witness._ _Although he never forgot you, reason why I'm here… watching for his memories – his sweet memories. You can change your name but not your past. You cannot change it's Christopher's genes in that boys' veins! You're the one who walked away!"_

"I did walk away…" Angelique admitted to herself as Pierce's words echoed in her mind while she was sitting on a bench watching the night sky in the backyard of the Talbot's Manor

Since the day, she returned from the Lake Manor, she couldn't stop thinking about that discussion and all the revelations coming from the version of the Duke of Bohma about Christopher's past attitudes that for the nine years she kept resentment.

Nine years believing her own lie or apparent untruth from those events. Fateful events. Nine years…

In nine years, she learned how to move on with her life. Moved on with George Talbot. Her husband-to-be. In one month, they will become husband and wife. However, she couldn't make that step before letting go completely of her past. Before letting go of Christopher and his meaning to her. She never believed she could ever love again. She couldn't! She couldn't while she kept herself into the shell of her memories.

Slowly she did leave the shell as she allowed herself to let George enter her heart and together the two wrote a new story for them. Their story. Gradually, George with hall his patience, acquired her trust, her care, her friendship, her attention, her thoughts, her decision, and a part of her heart.

She didn't fall in love with him. She didn't infatuate with him wildly, like she did with Christopher. No. her feelings for George were way softer, kinder, solid. They did have a solid ground as they had built their bond on a secure level. They had time to get to know better. No rush, no pressure. Gradually, he conquered her admiration.

Something that didn't happen in her very first love experience. Today, she could see it clearly and fast things did progress between her and Christopher. Within a year, they made eternal promises and vows. Within a year, their love multiplied in the form of Oliver. Within a year and something everything was gone between them. Everything but Olly. Everything but the Lake Manor. Everything but the Lake. Olly was conceived in the Lake Manor. The Lake Manor belonged to him. He as a male heir had that right, didn't he? Besides her banishment. Now she wished she could pass that manor to him.

What about the Peasant Manor? She wondered what had happened to it. Maybe one day she would have the courage to take a look and pass by there. A manor that had never really been hers and didn't really keep her sweetest memories. No it didn't! All tragedies and bad memories happened there. In that land. In that province. Katarina, Christopher's departure and her brutal capture by her blood family. Maybe she didn't really want to kill that curiosity to know what Christopher had done with that. It was his. Not theirs. Not Olly's, theoretically.

Although, she did face the Lake Manor and Pierce.

Pierce Northman, the man Christopher told her great stories about their friendship, the man of one kind, the only person he trusted in the court. The man that had saved him and also the kingdom of Bohma.

Pierce Northman…she didn't really see him with those eyes. Once she believed he was indeed that good man Christopher spoked highly. The day she met him she did trust him and the info he gave her. Until that day she did believe Pierce was the man Christopher described.

Now she couldn't say the same. He kept them apart. He didn't tell her where she could find him while she still had the courage to do that and tell Christopher about their son. No, he did keep them separate for personal reasons. Selfishness maybe? She couldn't really tell his reasons besides that apparently he did have feelings for Katarina too.

Why did he allow it? To lose the love of his life?

Ah, she had Christopher's child. She forgot that detail. So he let a boy without a father to allow another child – and a precious little girl – to have her father.

Thinking of it now, maybe he did make the right decision. Maddy needed someone to protect her from that evil woman.

How could he love her? How could both men love such an evil woman? Maybe she was a witch.

And for Maddy she regained some courage to face her past and her demons, still not enough to face Christopher. Yet, not out of option. However, just like Christopher she entrusted Pierce that holly task and watch out for the child and reason why he once let go of his greatest love.

She hoped he would be capable of doing it again. Maddy spoke highly about Christopher and how much she loved and felt safe with him.

She did too, a decade ago. She did feel safe with Christopher, in his arms. She trusted him. Blindly, until she saw him on his wedding day walking the aisle with the stunning witch.

" _Yes, I did walk away… I did walk away when I saw her belly bump. I did walk away for Maddy… Now I know that belly bump's name and how related we are. Both have suffered in the hands of those ones that were supposed to be our guardians and the real ones to love us. Shelter us… I survived and I want Maddy to survive too… she still has time to keep better memories from her childhood, like I did when my mother and grandmother were alive and the three of us lived in the Lake Manor… and as a mother, I just want Maddy to have a better life. Maddy was the reason why I let go of the love of my life too and sacrificed my own child to have his father, but Olly never had anyone hurting him. Olly had the chance to have guardians at his side, at his protection, sheltering him. Olly knows what family love is… Maddy only has Christopher and absent godparents. Maddy needs Christopher more than anyone! Maddy is Christopher's real kingdom…"_

Angelique returned to reality when her son suddenly closed her eyes with his small hands to make her a surprise. He was a sweet and happy child. She always feared one day not being capable to not have or give a good family to her children. Luckily she found George and Maggy, or were they who found her? It didn't matter. All she knew she was grateful to be part of their family and soon she was going to start a family of their own too alongside George.

Olly was an easily amused child, so opposite to Maddy.

Maybe it was better to keep things that way.

Oliver seemed to have understood growing without his biological father, although he got his mother's curiosity trait… or was it from his cousin's? Christopher had told her how curious and nearly nosy his cousin Clary was a curious person.

Oliver didn't have the Reed surname, but he definitely had the Reed's traits.

* * *

 **Baveen's Commerce**

"Have you heard about Albert's release?"

"It's the hottest subject in town. It seems that the people are not swallowing the grand duchess' decisions. The man that once she ordered the imprisonment under accusation of witchcraft, didn't apply the punishment and now she ordered his release"

"It will be very difficult for the people to bow to her." said Anastacia

"We should not underestimate the governor. Katarina is a clever and intelligent woman, and she was always very seductive, and she always got what she wanted, and this time she will not retreat," a mysterious man with a short – to medium-length style that contrasts the top with the perimeters, left long on the top, while the sides are buzzed quick, icy blue eyes, brown leather coat, black pants and boots warned as he heard their conversation

The women looked at him noticing his elegant posture and visibly an outsider.

"You say that because you're a man… the typical man" said one of them

"Typical man as in?"

"Who gets easily trapped…I mean attracted for beautiful women"

"That's indeed! My wife is the most beautiful woman of Arthena!" he spoke proudly

"So what are you doing here in Baveen? To look for the most beautiful woman of town aka Katarina?"

The man grinned at their provocation; "Maybe…" he spoke with his velvet tone of voice and walked away

The women exchanged gazes giving a shrug.

"I don't doubt that man could be one of Katarina's lovers… they say her marriage is not in a good phase"

"Again?"

The other woman nodded in confirmation

The woman replied with a smirk, "I guess not even beautiful and powerful people can live a fairytale…"

"That's true and that is a contrast with the grand duchess speeches…"

"That's why I don't bow to her and I'm happy to know they're moving to Arthena. Baveen will finally regain its peace back!"

"Indeed! And the wives can finally breathe in relief!"

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

"Angely Reed…" Christopher Reed spoke with a sigh as he was sitting on the armchair in front of the window, with sight to the town surrounding the castle

"Is it just a coincidence or are they the same person?" he spoke to himself, "My Angely…" he thought letting out a long frustrated sigh

Christopher Reed, the Grand Duke of Baveen and future governor of Arthena. All positions he never dreamed of. All positions he shadowy acquired with the perspicacity of Katarina.

In nine years of marriage, he saw the bubbly noble brunette become a serious and ambitious woman of power and influence in the kingdom of Bohma. He saw that young brunette girl who sought for freedom from a patriarchal tradition and submission, oppression of women become a fiery fighter for the equality of genders for work, for a space in society, for the independency of "fragile sex".

In nine years of marriage, he learned to admire her strength and ability with diplomacy with other nations. Her unique influence. He liked that about her. He loved that about her. Her struggles for the less favored in society. He admired her brilliance. Her passion. Passion! A word that described Katarina perfectly. She always put passion in whatever she embraced.

In nine years of marriage, he saw her passion increase to other matters. She was definitely a passion woman. And her passionate nature seemed to have affected him.

In nine years of marriage, a different passion had ignited in him about her. He had fallen for her braveness. For her determination, mixed with her strong femininity. He loved her femininity.

Femininity…it had always been a very well known trait of hers. Since they were young, she always loved all those girly stuff. Ointments, fancy dresses, makeup, hair products, skin recipes. Anything that could enhance her natural beauty. She was always impeccable even wearing simpler dresses. But nothing seemed simple on her. Such a fact that not even her naked skin made her look simple. Even after four pregnancies, her body was still fit. She worked hard to keep in shape.

Not that he cared about that either…

In nine years of marriage, he really learned how to desire her with all his core. His skin burnt next to her. Their relationship was pure flame. Even at their low moments. Nothing was simple in their relationship. Nothing! Such a fact, that he even couldn't define what he really felt for her in all those years together. Or even beyond that, he couldn't define his own feelings at the very first time his eyes laid on her. Or was her eyes that laid on him?

No simple answer. His feelings were always ambiguous about her. at the same time he desired, he rejected her. At the same time he was jealousy, he was unfaithful. He hated that about him. Yes, he did have other women in the beginning of their marriage until they had their first time as husband wife. Since then, he remained faithful to her despite her not believing him, until he met Cathlyn White.

With Cathlyn everything was different. His feelings were different. She was a softer woman. A simpler noblewoman.

Different of all the talk about them, he had never ceded to his feelings until that only kiss the previous day. Maybe a consequence of the bad phase he and Katarina were going through.

Nine years of marriage, was nine years of conflicts too. Katarina was as much strong-willed like him. As much stubborn as him. As much proud as him.

He didn't like the man he was becoming. His principles breaking. He wasn't supposed to be an unfaithful man. He was not like that!

But he missed her. He wanted her jealous. Lately she was so occupied with her own agenda that she didn't complain they were distant again. His doubts got him insecure at some extent and influenced in his ceding for Cathlyn. Would Katarina mind to know he had kissed that woman? Would Katarina mind for her status or for her own feelings, the love she always claimed to have for him?

He needed to know that! He missed his Katarina. Not the grand duchess. But his Katarina. The young girl he met, her bubbly personality. Her "simpler" persona. The Katarina he was sure that loved him with all her core.

However, to make all things more complicated he found those paintings in the art gallery of the castle. All in name of Angely Reed. The same alias his late wife used for a short time.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard noises on the door. He looked back to see Madeline coming in.

"Maddy? What happened?"

The blond girl looked reluctant, "Is that woman my new mother?"

Christopher made a puzzled face, "What woman? Why new mother?"

"The woman you were kissing…"

He couldn't disguise the panic in his expression, "What?"

"I saw you together… the door was half-open… I didn't mean to peek…"

He was speechless. He didn't imagine to be caught by his lovely daughter.

"Is she my new mother?"

"Of course not!"

"So why you kissed her?"

"Maddy…it's an adult thing…"

"But I don't want mother to hurt me because of her…" the girl spoke bursting into tears

Christopher immediately hurried to console her. That was Madeline Reed O'Gregon, Maddy. His sweet daughter. His little angel.

The reason why he was forced into a semi-love marriage to Katarina. The seed that united him to the woman that unveiled the worst of him, but that wasn't always a bad thing for him. He liked that. She made him stronger. A better warrior. A good father. She gave him his sweet Maddy.

Maddy, so innocent and brave. Almost like Angelique. His Angely.

For Maddy he accepted another woman's love, Katarina's love. For Maddy he learned to love Katarina in a visceral way. For Maddy he turned Angely into his sweetest and deepest secret. But not even Maddy could make him let go of Angely completely as he asked Pierce to look out for the Lake Manor and he bought the land in the Peasant's Village where he completed construction of the cottage that once were meant to be his and Angelique's. For Maddy he kept those properties in secret to leave for her in case anything bad happened to him as he knew Katarina abuses. For Maddy he was a defender like for Angely he was a protector. A mentor.

Pierce had told him Maddy's request to continue in Bohma with them until he moved permanently to Arthena. He didn't need too much explanation from Pierce to understand the situation. Katarina was being a bad mother to Maddy behind his back. That was something he hated about her. That was one of the things that invoked the worst of him. He had warned her long time ago, and he was willing to keep that promise if he had to. Especially now…

"So how are your painting classes going?"

"They're good… I'll miss Olly and my teacher. She's so nice"

"Yes. You had commented that before, but you never gave details…"

"You never asked" she spoke with an obvious tone

"That's true"

"You know she's Olly's mother, right?"

"Yes, I remember that detail…she's also the wife of Lord Talbot, isn't it?"

"Not really. They're engaged. Not married. But they will get married next month"

"Ah… So they had Oliver first and now they decided to get married…"

She shook her head in denial

"No?"

"No. Olly's father is her former husband's"

Christopher frowned intrigued

"Olly said he wants to meet his real father and when he gets older he will do that"

"I thought he knew his father and that he was dead"

"No… but daddy, may I ask you something?"

"Yes, absolutely"

"May Olly visit me when we move to Arthena?"

"Sure, if his mother and the lord give him permission…"

"They will! They know Olly is like a brother to me. He even calls me sister"

He smiled at her comment. He was aware of their close friendship. In fact, he was fond of Oliver too. He was a brave boy. Even at such a young age of eight, the boy already demonstrated courage and a strong temperament, despite his lovingness.

The girl showed signs of sleepiness and Christopher made sure to tell her a story to sleep. The story of two young couple who met at a lake a long time ago. The angel who saved a soldier's life. Of course, the blonde little girl fell asleep before he could tell it all.

That wasn't a problem for him. He was more telling the story for himself and arranging some pieces and Oliver Talbot seemed to fit the puzzle somehow. Just like the art teacher.

In the morning, Christopher awoke early, as the usual for his obligations. Madeline continued sleeping profoundly in his bed. He was heading to the main gate when he saw a familiar woman coming to his way. He smiled and walked to her direction to greet her with a hug.

"Clair!" he spoke happily

"Good morning cousin. Long time no see!"

"That's true and I'm glad you received my message"

"I did and it was surprising and intriguing at the same time. What's the urgency?"

"First of all, my condolences. Your husband was a good man and I'm sorry for not going to the funeral…"

"Thank you and it's alright. I understand you have obligations"

"I do, but..."

"I can see you don't look good… What's the urgency, cousin?"

Christopher asked her to follow him as he explained the whole situation.

"So Maddy…"

"Yes. She fears Katarina and I myself don't trust letting her alone with her either and since I have to travel a lot… I need someone of my trust to watch for Maddy"

"And that one is me?" she said lifting an eyebrow

"I thought of you, but I'll understand if you don't accept my offer… it means you'll have to move to Arthena and live with Katarina…"

"I accept it"

He looked at her, "You do?"

"I do accept your offer. I really do need a change and my children are already adults and have their own families…You know I love children and even more Maddy, but I do have one concern…"

"Katarina" he assumed

"Yes"

"Don't worry about her. She's my concern, not yours"

"She can be against it"

"It's her choice. Or this or the separation!"

"Separation? Are you sure of this?"

"More than never! This will be my last ultimatum and she has been warned of it long ago. She's not the only one with the last word!"

"All the best my dear brother… you know you're like a brother to me…"

He smiled kindly, "I know and you're like a sister to me"

"I hope everything will solve in peaceful terms for you. Even though I can't stand Katarina, but Maddy needs someone who can protect her from that…tyrant!"

Christopher nodded in agreement and they continued the conversation, scheming their plans of action.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Thank you everyone for reading :D  
**

 **So in this chapter we have a new character introduced briefly. Wondering who he may be and his real intentions! xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	27. Nine Years

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

Christopher, Clairy, Pierce, Elizabeth with her baby and Maddy prepared themselves for the trip early the morning. Maddy was still a bit sad because would stay away from Oliver for a long time. The two young children shared a strong bond and a close friendship.

They were waiting outside the castle as their luggage being kept in the carriages. The adults talked their goodbyes, while Maddy was sitting on a bench.

"Maddy?" said a blond man, taking seat next to her

"Doctor Vladimir. Good morning" the blonde girl replied politely

"Good morning sunshine"

She laughed

"Excited to go to Arthena?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Because I will miss Olly"

"The ginger boy?"

She nodded in confirmation

"You can always visit each other"

"Daddy told me that too"

Vladimir inhaled discreetly. He felt a pinch in his heart when the little girl said that. his little girl. His only girl. It hurt him to hear her calling Christopher "Daddy". He was her daddy, not the grand duke.

"I'm glad I came to bring you this before you left" he spoke delivering her a package

"What is it?"

"Open it"

A blond doll. Blue eyed. Just like her. Maddy loved dolls.

"Thank you" she spoke happily

"You're welcome"

"She looks like me"

He laughed, "Yes, she does"

(*)

Christopher's attention was taken to the man sitting beside his daughter. He recognized he was the doctor of town. A weird thought crossed his mind as he watched them interacting. Taking a better glimpse he noticed Vladimir seemly emotional talking to the little girl.

From afar, he also couldn't help the apparent similar features the man and the girl shared. The skin color, the icy-blue eyes, the light tone of blond, the straight hair.

"Could he be…" he thought analyzing them, "He and Kat used to be close back in the days…"

He stepped closer to them, "Good morning Vladimir"

"Good morning your highness"

"Look daddy. I got a doll!" the girl spoke happily

Christopher smiled, "It's a pretty doll. Like you, darling"

"Mr. Vladimir said the same"

"Thank you for the gift, but it wasn't necessary you have such expense…"

"No expense at all. I heard Maddy loves dolls and there's a toy store next to my clinic. It's not so fancy like the ones she has, but I bought it with love"

"You only have sons with your wife, isn't it?"

"Yes… in the court being the only girl around… She's like the daughter I never had…"

Christopher remained in silence for a while – for Maddy. She was happy beling he's her actual father and Vladimir just a friend.

"I'm sorry for that… And Maddy is a lovely daughter and I'm lucky to be her father!"

Vladimir forced a smile in agreement, "I'm sure she is…in fact, your highness have beautiful children"

"I do! Maddy, Phillip, Adelina but we call her Lilly and Beau"

"I remember Lilly and Phillip. Lilly is the brunette like Kat, right?"

"Yes. Lilly is a little copy of Kat"

"Yes, I remember that"

Christopher looked to the side, Maddy playing with the doll. "I can see that being her next favorite doll" Christopher commented changing the subject avoiding where that topic could lead them

For Maddy he didn't confront Vladimir. Maybe if he had done would be a waste of time. The man had kept his lips sealed all that long, why would he break his silence now?

However, another truth should be pointed out. Christopher had a strong attachment for Maddy. He loved being her father. He didn't want it to end. He gave her his name and he wanted that to ling on. He didn't want Vladimir evoking his legal rights if he confirmed his suspicion.

* * *

 **Baveen, Unknown Location**

"I was expecting your visit. But it took longer than I expected. I have a long trip to make." the Grand Duchess commented

"I wanted to let things calm down," the man replied

The Grand Duchess delivered him a pouch of coins, "The other fifty percent. It is a lot of money"

"Not so much, researches are demanding and expensive…"

"Just make sure that there is no any evidence against me, a woman like me cannot risk having my name stained, especially by a scientist, unscrupulous, like you and your brother."

"I know. We know. We could even be tortured; obviously all this is between us. As the person in charge of supervising the mines, I am discreet about this type of service." the man replied before saying goodbye

* * *

 **Reed Palace, Arthena**

"I'm so anxious Chris…"

"Don't worry Clair, Katarina will not oppose to this decision of mine"

"What if she does?"

"Then we find another place to ourselves"

"What about the other children?"

"I don't get concerned about them… she treats them right, but if she doesn't, I'll take them as well!"

The Reed cousins' carriage stopped by the palace's entrance. The palace had a recent reformation so they could move. There was over a decade since they had been to that location. Somehow, it was Christopher's little kingdom. The land was large, he had put on rent some fractions away from the main land where the palace located, and other families still lived there.

At the entrance, there were two guards and a lady-in-waiting waiting for them.

"You take them to the chambers in the end of the hallways upstairs" he ordered the lady-in-waiting

"Yes milord!" the woman replied politely

"And one of you could please tell my wife to meet me at the library?"

"I'm afraid we can't…"

"Why not?"

"Your wife is not here"

"Where did she go?"

The guards looked at each other, hesitant.

"Where's Katarina?"

"Your wife didn't come to the palace yet"

"Nor to Arthena" the other guard completed

Christopher inhaled deeply. Thoughtful. Wondering what had happened to Katarina. At that time of the day, he knew Katarina wouldn't take the risk to go on a trip to there, so his only option was to wait for the next day. Maybe Katarina preferred to go later than him and not stay alone in the palace.

He knew very well her fear of staying alone, a fear that initiated after the death of the Duke.

* * *

 **A Few Days Later**

Katarina crossed the main gate. Looking around the vast land, memories invaded her mind.

"This place… Again…" she thought exhaling

She headed to the main palace and found Clairy and Maddy playing in the front yard.

"What are you doing here?" asked the Grand Duchess

"Your highness… I'm Maddy's nanny."

"A nanny? Is that what cousins are called now?"

"No. Orders from Christopher…his highness"

"Humpf… are you sleeping with him too?"

Clairy gasped, "What? No! How could you ever think that?!"

"Cousins…You are a widow…"

"No, we are not that type of cousins! I'm not that type of woman!" Clairy replied offended

Katarina smiled cynically, "Probably not. I never smelt your scent on him"

"You're offending me, your highness. You don't need to do that"

"With an unfaithful husband, I can expect anything from the intentions behind his strange orders!"

"What about my 'faithful' wife? Is she finished with her poison?" Christopher broke his silence

Katarina turned around in scare. She laughed in distress; "I said no lie, did I?" she spoke not losing her composure

"Where have you been all this long? Alone…"

"I was in Baveen solving some pendencies"

"Did you solve it?"

"Of course!"

"Good. Ah and before I leave, it's an order that Clairy will stay permanently with Maddy. They both share the same chambers and I hope you mind about that"

"Do as you wish, milord…"

"I also separated your largest chambers. You need more space than me" he spoke almost in a cynic tone

"Are we going to sleep in separate chambers here too?"

"That depends on you. I just said that you may keep your belongings in a separate chamber. If you will sleep there or not…not my call"

Katarina inhaled deeply, "Anything else I should know Christopher?"

"No, that's all"

She smirked, "That is all…" she spoke cynically, "I hope not to find any mistress of yours when I cross those doors"

"You'll find lots of them" he replied in irony

"No doubt! Maybe you keep them at barn"

"Enough Katarina!"

"Not enough. I still remember the girl from the barn!"

Christopher inhaled closing his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. He had no time to waste with that discussion. Without saying anything else, he left the land. As Katarina didn't even bother to greet Maddy and entered the place heading to her chambers.

* * *

 **Katarina's Chambers**

"I do not want to sound indiscreet, but I just realized that you and his highness are sleeping in separate chambers since you came to Arthena."

"We discussed... as the usual…"

"May I ask you why?"

"Madeline" the brunette replied rolling the eyes, "She has a permanent nanny now… not that I care. One less work for me. I still have Phillip, Adelina and my baby Beau to watch out!"

"Yes, two small children and a toddler demand a lot of attention"

"I could not help but notice that his highness has spent a lot of time in the gallery and he keeps the pictures of Angelique"

"Humpf, have you ever seen her self-portrait? The supposed self-portrait? I do not know how Christopher married a woman like that. Maybe I even understand that she has a rustic beauty, but nothing elegant. Without any strain…feminine appeal…"

"Yet his highness still admires her..."

"I have to be careful. Men are very weak. They can be seduced easily and pour their mourning on the whores out there"

"I suspect that your husband is somewhat annoyed by your 'distance'"

"Besides being a counselor, you are a great observer, the problem is that I do not want him to be so bothered by this, and so I want you to separate my best dress for dinner"

"Will there be any dinner with guests tonight?" The lady-in-waiting asked

"No, but I intend to impress him, and lately I have been so busy with my social causes that I have paid little attention to my beloved husband"

"And you want to make up for the lost time today?" The counselor will insist.

"Yes. Christopher is jealous of my popularity with the people, especially with the handsome Duke, and I do not want him to think I am having adventures out there… I need to keep him in love, at least for a little while longer... He shall remember how crazy he is for me!"

"Yes ma'am"

"Ah, and also separate my most daring lingerie"

"The red one?"

"Yes. And that costume with veils."

"Hmmm, are you going to dance for him?"

Katarina smiled with mischief and nodded in confirmation, "And a lot more!"

Upon arriving in the dining hall, however, Katarina was surprised by the absence of the Grand Duke.

"His highness preferred to go to bed earlier, he recommended that you do the same, because you must be full of commitments to your causes tomorrow," the servant said

Katarina dismantled her pose and, irritated by Christopher's contempt, returned to her bedchamber without having dinner.

* * *

 **Reed Palace, Arthena, Christopher's Chambers**

 **Flashback**

" _As more important than the future, is the present. People should be more concerned in seeing the present than the future and in the right time, you will also need to see the present. You shall need to see the truth in each person around you and your biggest disbelief will be on yourself"_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _A woman…a woman in your life."_

" _What about her?"_

" _She will swear love to you, but will bring the hate. She will talk about peace, but will bring the_ _discord._ _She will celebrate the life, but will bring the death."_

" _Who is that woman?"_

" _Only you will be capable to answer"_

 **End of Flashback**

Christopher Reed was lying on his bed lost in his thoughts. Since he came to Arthena, at random moments, the words of the seer crossed his mind. Words spoken many years ago. Words that now took his attention. Could she be right? Who could possibly be that woman? Suddenly, he heard a loud noise coming from the door.

"What manners are that entering here? I did not expect you here, this time of the night" he said standing from the bed

"Fuck the manners! I do not care about the time of the night. I want to talk to you!"

"I have already seen that it is a serious matter," predicted the grand duke

"It is about us. Your distance! Your coldness towards me"

"Coldness. Distance… the same talk again…"

"Not the same talk!"

"Definitely not. I don't think I have to keep you warm anymore"

"What?"

"I've come to realize I want to separate from you, so I'll return to Bohma with Maddy and Clairy and you can stay here with your causes" he spoke straight to the point

"What? Is that because of your jealous of that stupid duke? I love you Christopher!"

"I know very well who you love, Katarina. Don't play a saint!"

"This aggression is no longer necessary with me, as I have forgiven you for everything: for all your failings, which were not few... moments of weakness with other women... the dozens of times you have not fulfilled your matrimonial obligations... I also forgave your dubious character, your cowardice, your weakness of spirit… and I never, ever cheated on you!"

"Enough! Don't play me a fool about cheating!" Christopher raised his voice, losing his temper.

"I will not shut up this time!"

"You never shut your mouth Katarina!"

"I really do not!" she shouted

"You want to argue? Apparently that's the only thing you know how to do"

"Apparently that is the only way you seem to understand things or listen to anyone!"

"So spill out all your venom Katarina! I'm listening!"

"My venom? Why cannot you understand?! I cannot abandon this cause! I have done it once. And it was for you! Why is it so hard now for you to stay here for me? "

He smirked, "Deep down, I always knew that this day would come. You play in my face you missed the opportunity to ascend the throne because of me. It was obvious that I would be charged for this"

"I'm not charging you of anything! But I cannot deny that I expected more support this time. You did not want to live in the castle. I respected your decision. But now you act as the most pampered of the princes!"

Christopher felt the blow and remained silent.

"More than once you accused me of not knowing what it was to be simpler and be selfish. And you were right, since I was raised in a castle. But, it seems, I care much more about the People than you, who have lived among them since birth"

"You're being extremely unfair!"

"Stop and think about what you are asking me… to turn away from them! Leaving the people of Arthena and even the people of Bohma to the mercy of the insanity of the king of Edonia! For you I broke up an engagement, facing my own father! For you I faced the enraged royalty with your disappearance from court, to get you free of the gallows for treason! Do you think I was thinking only of myself when I came to Arthena?"

"If it were not for you, I would never put my feet back here! By the way, you have a lot to throw me in my face too"

"You were not the only one to give in or make concessions. And finally, you should know that it takes a lot of courage to start over again in another city, abandoning not only everything that we have already achieved, but also leaving my old parents and my sister behind. If I am willing to do this, it is not out of selfishness. But for love. For you! But only a coward would make the decision to leave now."

Disgusted, Christopher countered, "Was I a coward to leave my sick woman because you wanted me at all costs and orchestrated a trap to have me? Have I been a coward living on your side all these years without love? Am I the coward in abusing of an innocent child, leaving her frightened and abandoned? Was I a coward to assume the creation of a child who was not even mine and defend this little being of her own mother? You don't love me Katarina, you have me as your property, and I'm not! If I have been able to live this network of illusions and fantasies of government, it is neither for me nor for you, but for Maddy!" He paused, "Vladimir's daughter!" he shouted

Katarina swallowed heavily. Her mouth went dry.

"Who is the coward now? Are you going to continue denying the truth that I've always known that Maddy is not my blood daughter? You want to start over? So let's start over with clean cloths!"

They remained in a long silence. Katarina's body trembled. Did Vladimir open his mouth about their affair? Or anything else? She simply couldn't think.

He made a face demanding an explanation from her.

Instead, Katarina looked to the sides. At Christopher. Let out a long sigh and turned her back, heading to the door.

Christopher frowned and reached her, and pulled her by the wrist, "Walking away from the truth, Katarina O'Gregon?" he spoke looking deeply into her eyes

Demonstrating an exceptional control of her emotional, Katarina looked back at him with an intriguing calmness, "You want to go? Just go. You never really loved me. You loved Madeline. You love your ghosts. So stay with them. I will not force you to do what you do not want. I have done it for the past nine years and all I have got was…lies and haunts" she spoke managing to release herself from him and turned away without waiting for his response

"Kat…" he whispered watching the imposing brunette walking away in the corridor without looking back, "Dammit!" he murmured beating the door

Angry. Confused. Tortured. Christopher Reed headed to the balcony. Too dark to see beyond the illuminated parts of the land. Not that he cared.

That land seemed cursed. Reason why he never liked that place and preferred to stay at the court. The problem was the land, right? And not Katarina's delay and the next day upon her arrival, the duke of Arthena happily at her side, right? Leornad Keane. He knew that duke so well and his flirty side. In the past, they had their divergences on several matters. In the past there was a woman four teenager boys disputed the attention. Along the years, all those four boys had that woman, a piece of her. Some, had all of her. Maybe, all of them had her. But now, Christopher Reed wasn't willing to share his woman. His wife, much less with Leonard Keane, the flirt of the group. Women was his specialty and what would stop him to have Katarina? Again…or further…

No, he wasn't going to share her. No way!

In one thing, she was right: his love for a ghost. Angely.

For a decade, his soul was married to Angelique and those recent signed paintings in the art gallery of the castle of Bohma had disrupted his reasoning and his feelings. For a decade, it was like she was always there, with him. With them. Between them. For nine years, his soul lived under the torment of the betrayal. Bigamy. Bigamy was a crime and he felt like a criminal. Criminal of hearts. In nine years, he never really allowed himself to give his all to Katarina, his then wife. She had his passion, his shadow, but not his love.

Could it be possible loving two people at the same time?

Now Leonard Keane was back in their lives and he was leaving Katarina to go back to his ghost. The wonder that the new painter could possibly be his Angely. The art had improved. The calligraphy was similar. And the Reed. His surname he had given to her the day they married in secret. His soul was still married to her all this long.

And he wanted to go back to Bohma to investigate the new painter. There was so much coincidence. Coincidences that tortured him. The torture of being sharing his sweet Angely with that average man. That average Marquess. Future Lady Talbot. He hated that thought. His Angely being touched by another man. They even had a son, Oliver. The little ginger boy who stole his heart and best friend of his little angel Maddy.

Too much was going on. In one side, there was Leonard Keane. In the other side, there was George Talbot. And then there was his obligations as a grand duke. As a father of four. He never really had time for him own. Nor a break. He was suffocated for nine years. He was about to explode. He wished he could just disappear. He couldn't. Everybody depended on him.

It was never enough.

What should be his priority? He had so much to think.

If he launched in the search of Angely Reed and find out she was his Angelique. Both would be considered criminals. He as a bigamist. She for misrepresentation. His marriage would be invalidated. She was going to be condemned. Maddy needed him. Olly needed her.

Maybe it was about time to let go of his sweet ghost… but why didn't she go to the court as he had asked? Did she stop loving him? Why did she fake her death? To stay with George? Maybe they were together all the long… they were together behind his back! Oliver's age proved that! Dammit, she cheated on him! She made him a fool!

Women made him a fool!

Enraged, Christopher Reed left his chambers and hurriedly walked to the art chambers where he had kept Angelique's paintings and diaries. Her treasures.

Fury took over him. Enraged he took his knife and risked the portrait that was facing him. His portrait. The one Angelique had painted especially for him for his birthday as a present. He screamed. Remorse. He was going insane. He couldn't destroy that. Not her work. Not the diaries.

But he could destroy their memories. The sweetest memories.

"Guards!" he yelled and immediately three of his guards entered the chamber, "Take all that to the mausoleum. Now!" he ordered

Jealous. He helped the man carry them all.

Betrayed. Both women had other men's children.

Resignation. He should keep the past and its ghosts buried.

Marriage. Angely had chosen that average Marquees and he had his marriage to save. He wasn't going to share Katarina with anyone! Much less with the stupid duke Keane!

This time, it wasn't for Maddy. Nor any children.

Now…It was for him…

* * *

 **Katarina's Chambers**

"Lucy!" Katarina yelled

"Yes, Milady"

"Take my luggage and arrange my belongings in it. I have ordered the other maidens to take my three children tomorrow morning in the carriages. We will leave this place tomorrow morning!"

"Yes ma'am, may I ask where will us be going?"

"To the castle of Arthena, where I belong."

"But…"

"This place has always belonged to Christopher and we are separating"

"What?"

"No further questions, I do not owe you any explanation"

"Yes ma'am"

Katarina took a bottle of whisky and walked to the balcony, drinking from the bottle.

"Nine years… nine years playing the perfect wife. Pretending to be what I am not. Who I am not!

I am no one's shadow. Much less Angelique's shadow!

I am Katarina O'Gregon, the finest noblewoman and most important woman of Bohma. Even more important than the queen!

I am the brain behind the king!

I am the brain behind Christopher's brilliant conquers!

I am the one in front line of diplomacy.

I am the one facing the monarchs in equality.

I am the one using my intelligence, my influence, my beauty to make this colony work and free our chains from that stupid king of Edonia and I will not bow to him like a coward that Charles is!

I will not bow to any other man, not even to Christopher!

It is enough!

I have bowed for nine years for that knight. I am the one who made him great.

It is over!

I will be Great on my own. Alone!

My name is Katarina O'Gregon. The true governor of Baveen and Arthena. The true sovereign of this colony and future empress of Bohma!

Nothing else is in my way. No one else is in my way.

Everyone will remember my name.

Iron brain. I am iron made!

I am no man's slave. I am no man's maid. I am no man's carpet. I am no man's play. I am no man's trash!

I am tired of making men great!

Think or talk bad about me. But talk about me!

Remember the name: Katarina O'Gregon. Katarina the Great!"

(*)

The hours passed. The sun rose. The birds chipped. The brunette was lying in the bed at the side of the empty whisky bottle. Uncovered.

Katarina woke up still wearing the same red robe from the previous night. No sign of her luggage. No sign of her lady-in-waiting. She left the bed to do her morning ritual of beauty and hygiene.

She forgot to separate her gown and called for Lucy. No answer.

"Lucy!" she yelled again

The door opened

"Lu…" she paused when she realized it wasn't her lady-in-waiting, "What do you want? I thought you would be in Bohma already" she spoke with a dry tone

"I'm not going anywhere. Not even you" the grand duke wearing a red gown replied calmly

"Dressed like this probably not… unless you force me" she spoke with sarcasm

"I love when you dress that…for me"

"What do you want Christopher? A goodbye sex?"

He shook his head in denial, "I don't want sex. Much less goodbye"

"Beat me? Spank me? Rape me?"

He laughed, "None of the options"

"So?"

"I want the option you're not giving"

"Which is?"

"I want to make love to you"

"Too late, is not it?"

"It's never too late if there's love"

"My quote of love has expired, thanks to your indifference"

"I know you're hurt and I sucked as a husband most of the times, but… you still remained there…with me"

"I shared you with other women, Christopher! I still remember their scent on you! But I always reconsidered, not for me, but for you… but then you repeated it, again, and again…I tried to act like the other wives do…managing a successful marriage under submission and acceptance of their husband's infidelities. Chained to failed marriage because they could not afford with divorce. Chained in the disgrace to be a woman in a society of men… always playing by their rules… I cannot do this anymore!"

"I know and I don't want you to"

"So why talk about love when… the others are in your heart" her eyes filled with water, "Cathlyn, the unnamed ones… Angelique…" she covered her eyes at the mention of the latest

The man walked over to her and kindly touched her fists in attempt to uncover her crying face. She fought it, stepping away. Still, he could see the tears on her delicate face.

"If you give me just one more chance… I promise I will give you my heart"

"I cannot believe you… you are not good with promises!"

"But I'm good with actions"

She laughed in incredulity, "I already had your actions, and three times they planted in me your seeds"

His eyes widened, his lips parted in surprise. Was she finally admitting? He could not believe his ears, but he couldn't also ruin that single moment.

"My passion, you always had my passion, Kat. I want to give you my love"

"You love…"

"I buried them. And I'm not going anywhere if not with you by my side"

"How can I be sure?"

"I don't lie!"

She knew him. For almost two decades, she knew him. And since the first time her eyes laid on him when they were still young teens, she wanted him to be her first. Her first everything and the only. She wanted to be his first everything, but she wasn't.

That time she still had an innocence that she lost over the years with his constant rejections.

Leonard Keane was her first kiss. Charles her first fiancé. Then there were other men in her attempt to forget… until she had to choose between Pierce and Christopher. How could she ever be capable to make such choice? Pierce was devotion. Christopher passion. Pierce always chose her. Christopher always declined her.

One day she had caught Christopher with an average girl at the barn in this same land. She watched them. She heard them when she was hidden for some reason she didn't recall.

She so hated that girl. She thought of breaking their pleasant moment, but she remained in silence. God only knows how she managed that.

But she saw everything. His everything. The ugly girl couldn't have all of him. She was boring. She only did in one position. So boring that he came quick, off of her.

Yet, she so wanted to hit that girl with the woods near her.

But no, she remained in silence and in a moment of fury, she went after Charles and as his wedding gift, she gave him her virginity, one day before his wedding. His father forced him to marry a true princess, his current boring wife.

Charles was average, small…to her "pattern".

She had seen better. Bigger. Not only literally speaking. All extent of the word.

Until the day at the tavern. She danced with other men, to overcome the thoughts of her losing her virginity to Charles and her father arranging her to late Fleming.

She was the best candidate for a great marriage due to her position, her class. She only lost to royal members. She wasn't a virgin anymore. Even at a public location, she danced with other men. At that time, she didn't really care anymore if other men were going to touch her anyhow. Handsome men, of course! Average and below that had no chance with her. Not only sexually speaking, after all, she couldn't know until she saw them naked.

Then Christopher entered the tavern, he had been promoted to a knight. He was in the mood for celebration.

The loud music, the animation, the alcohol, the haunted memories possibly contributed to their proximity that evening. They talked outside the lounge. Admired the stars. Alone. Together. In a time they had no worries, or little worries and obligations. They could enjoy themselves for who they were. Their beauty flourishing. His muscles enhancing due to his training. He smelt so good. He always had some vanity and so opposite to most men. She liked that.

They talked about their past, good memories. They laughed. They drank more. They shared a whisky bottle.

One thing led to another when his hand touched hers. They exchanged gazes, then he kissed her. So warm, so kind. So gentle. Nothing boring. She was in heaven and without even care if they could be seen, she kissed him back. They could not stop it. He tried, but he couldn't. He was in flames. They were in pure desire.

That tavern served as an inn too. As if in synch, they exchanged gazes, sharing the same thoughts and so it happened. Their first time. So fluffy yet wild. She didn't want to be boring like the other girl. She wanted to be remarkable and having some experience helped her in that, although it was more of her delivering herself to the intensity of her dormant feelings for him. Their only time until his birthday party a couple of years later, when she seduced him to stage a lie, but didn't have it all because he slept due to the alcohol.

In nine years of marriage they never had such experience again, at least, not the fluffy.

She knew he desired her body and really loved possessing it. However, he hadn't demonstrated to care about her feelings. Her heart. Not even after their first time when he spent most of the time struggling with his feelings or whatever remorse.

Now there he is proposing her a love deal. A love chance. Something she urged for so long, but in a moment, her ambitions had changed.

Still, she loved him. She did love him, right? She wouldn't have accepted all that if there wasn't love, right?

"So what do you say? Will you give us a chance?"

She could sense the hope in his tone. In his gaze.

Crossroads. Between love and ambition. Could she have both? There was only one answer for that question.

She smiled lightly with a single nod, "Yes, I will" she spoke sweetly

He leaned closer his face to hers, gently wiping the tears from her face, "Thank you for never giving up on me"

"I almost did…several times…"

"There's no one else between us, Kat… no one else…"

Their lips finally sealed into a love kiss. A balm. They kissed. And kissed more. Kindly. Warmly. Caringly.

They didn't try to remove each other's clothes. That could wait. They preferred to spend time together. They had breakfast. Full family.

Clairy kept an eye on Katarina who looked blissful and even treated Madeline kindly and even apologized to the little girl for had been a bad mother. But from that day on, things would be different.

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, Bohma**

" _Call me a bitch. Call me a witch. Just call my name. Just call Katarina. Katarina O'Gregon. The Great!_

 _I write my own path!_ "

An old man spoke as he read some letters that were on his desk in the Lake House. Now a patrimony of Bohma.

He started coughing and opened a drawer to get a bottle of meds. He took one black pill and swallowed it without any liquid. He looked inside the bottle and counted how many pills remained. Concern was visible on his face.

"Mr. Lionel" his personal guard entered the library, "There you are!" the man spoke in relief

"I'm always around, son! My legs can't win races anymore" the old man spoke jokingly

"I called you and you didn't answer"

"Look at me"

"I'm looking"

"Are you looking attentively?"

"Yes, I am, but what am I supposed to see?"

The old man laughed, "Deafness is part of this old figure, son!"

The other man laughed, "Sounds more you were distant" he said taking notice on the papers on the desk, "How are you feeling today?"

"The same as always…older!"

"You don't seem just older Mr. Lionel"

"And you are correct son. You are a great observer of this old and dying old man who is failing with his mission!"

"Dying? You still have the pills… I can order for more"

"No son…I have prolonged my departure for too long. My body needs to rest, so I will only finish this bottle and pray that the ones I have found and told their stories, manage to do things differently this time"

"But you still haven't found her…"

"The key of the puzzle" the old man looked at a painting hanging on the wall of a stunning brunette with a luxurious red gown and fancy jewelry and a crown

"Katarina…"

"Katarina O'Gregon!" Mr. Lionel corrected the man

"Those are her letters?"

"Some of them… I just finishing reading her diary about Christopher when I stumbled into a letter"

"Which one?"

"The 10th Anniversary"

"Did you find any clue?"

"No, but I did get one doubt"

"About?"

"Did they ever really loved each other? If there was true love, I wonder if this could make a change when they meet again"

"There's love when Angelique is not around, isn't it what you have said before?"

"I did say that before son, but I'm saying if there could still have hope for a not so dramatic encounter between them"

"With all the respect sir… There will always have drama between them. Two women disputing the love of the same man? One has to give in… Katarina doesn't seem to be that type"

"But she will have to! It's the law of the universe. She did have her chance and look what happened… Today I got in doubt if it would be the best if they met first, or if he and Angelique met first"

"Angelique is taken, isn't she?"

The old man laughed, "Oh yes, right! Old brain!" he joked, "However, Angelique being taken is not a problem. She has a process to live with George. It's the law! But Christopher…he is still so hurt. So damaged… I could see in his eyes…the gaze he kept since Katarina…" he started coughing

"Mr. Lionel. You'd better take a rest. It's enough past journey for today" the man spoke rushing to his aid and carried him to his bedroom

"I have to find Katarina… I'm running out of time!" the old man spoke before falling asleep

The servant left the room leaving the door half-open and returned to the library. He stood before Angelique and Katarina's large paintings, "Maybe Christopher Reed opened his heart to the wrong woman…" he thought staring the painting that were side by side

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Thank you** **LeehPeron for favoring the story :D  
**

 **And so we had some revelations unveiled huh! This had been a long journey for Christopher and Katarina...and for Maddy.**

 **For how long can these two enjoy their moment of peace and happiness? And Maddy? And who is Mr. Lionel in fact?**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	28. Chapter 28

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

Several months had passed. Christopher Reed couldn't get rid of the memories of him and Katarina after their reconciliation. Since that day, he did work hard for their relationship. He did embrace the urge to learn how to love the matured Katarina and ignore the stupid comparisons between her and Angelique. He had to convince his heart that their time was gone. Angelique was dead – and in the mausoleum at the end of his vast land. Out of his reach of sight. Out of his reach…

Katarina's change was significant and it was almost like she had rescued the bubbly girl he did enjoy the company when she wasn't hitting on him so hard with her flirts. He missed that girl. He did admire the woman of government she could be and he knowledge that important trait on her when dealing with the people, but that wasn't necessary when she was home. When she could relax her manners and be a loving wife and mother to all of their children.

He did see how she was changed with Madeline. There was an occasion Clairy had to go back to her old manor to handle some pendencies and Maddy had to stay in Arthena and he was absent for a weekend.

In that occasion he started believing in Katarina's redemption towards Maddy as the child hadn't changed her behavior at all and didn't fear staying close Katarina anymore. She even used to draw her in a beautiful way, something that wasn't the case before as she used to draw only the ones she cared or in few occasions she did draw her mother as a monster or a witch. Those dark days were gone. Maddy proved her artistic talent – just like Angely – and she put on practice everything she learned from her mysterious art teacher.

So far, Christopher felt as if he made the right choice and enjoyed his marriage in a new level. To a point that they nearly stayed separated and usually did everything together, as a couple. As a family. A happy one.

He still remembered the first time they made love. Something he never thought could happen. He made love to Katarina O'Gregon and only her. That day he was sure he could love his stunning wife beyond her beauty and spiciness. That was the first time he didn't have to fight with his feeling of betrayal nor the wish that Angelique should be the woman he was entering in. no, Angelique didn't haunt him that day. He didn't feel like he was getting laid with two different people. No. he was making love with his only woman. And she didn't have to share him with anyone else. With nothing else.

It felt so good. So powerful. Heart changing.

Angelique was in the mausoleum, untouchable. Invisible. Unreachable. He did pay a servant to watch out for the art so weather, or dirt or bugs wouldn't damage her work. Her treasure. But only that – those remains. It wasn't about her memory. It was about her work. Her talent. A talent he admired since the very first time his eyes laid on the paintings in the Lake Manor. That was long ago. He avoided returning to the moments at the lake… it was for a good sake.

He was happy now. There was life after her…

There was love after her.

Instead of cooling down, things were only getting hotter and hotter between him and Katarina. They took long walks and talked about a number of things: how they felt about the state of the economy, war and family matters.

They woke up early to a cloudless day, nestled in each other's arms. They bathed together and went downstairs for breakfast, laughing. It seemed that the whole world was at peace that day. As they had breakfast out on the veranda, they were serenaded by a throng of birds flying in and out of the branches of the trees that surrounded the palace.

"It must be the amazing weather" Christopher said, gazing at the water and sky, "Sky's so blue, air's so still…doesn't even seem as if there could be a ripple in the ocean"

It was unusual weather for Arthena.

At breakfast, they talked about the souvenirs they were bringing home. There was something for everyone.

As they lingered over coffee, Katarina enjoyed their long-lasting honeymoon after nearly 10 years of marriage.

"We should decide where we are going to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Here or in Bohma"

"It's up to you"

"It is hard to decide. Here is more comfortable for us, but in Bohma we would have all the guests we would like to celebrate with us"

"Do you really think a party is necessary? It's our anniversary, not theirs"

"We barely celebrate anything"

"Indeed and that's why I think we could celebrate in private"

"But we will celebrate in private!" she spoke in a seductive way

They smiled at each other.

He wasn't fond of parties and such crowds, but Katarina wanted the party. She'd have the party.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

"Olly!"

"Maddy!"

The children greeted happily as the Reed-O'Gregon family walked the front yard of the castle, on their way to their chambers.

"Hello Mr. Christopher"

"Hello Olly! You're taller huh!" the man greeted him back friendly

"I'll be as tall as you"

"I bet you will!"

Katarina noticed Christopher and the redhead boy talking as she walked her husband's way to join him with their other children. Her eyes glued on the boy.

"There they're coming" Maddy pointed out

"Who?" Olly replied

"My mother Katarina, my brothers Phil and Beau, and my sister Lilly"

"I remember Lilly, the pretty one" Olly replied innocently, "You're pretty too Maddy!"

Christopher smiled at the boy's comment. Still an innocent compliment. He loved that about children, their innocence.

"Will you stay playing him?" Christopher asked his daughter as he noticed Katarina closer

"Yes daddy"

"Alright, you know where to find us"

"Yes daddy"

Katarina and her three children greeted them politely. She couldn't take her eyes off the redhead boy who seemed to stare her as well. He was green eyed and had a fair skin, yet some features on him seemed familiar to her. That was a trick from her mind she thought. Children look alike she convinced herself.

"Your mother is so beautiful Maddy. Now I know why you and Lilly are so pretty too"

Maddy blushed, "My daddy is handsome too!"

The boy shrugged, "He's not my type…"

The children laughed and continued talking.

(*)

 **Reed Chambers**

"So that is the famous Olly, you and Maddy talk about so much?" Katarina asked casually

"Yeah, that's him"

"And who are his parents?"

"The Talbot's"

"Ah, the marquees?"

"Yes"

"Humm. His mother is a painter, right?"

"Uhum" he replied mumbling,

"Do you know her?"

"No."

"You don't know her?"

"No, but I know his father. Why the interest?"

"For nothing. I just want to know who are the people my daughter hangs out"

"I'll speak with Charles"

"Alright and I will pay a visit to Elizabeth"

The couple kissed in goodbye

* * *

 **Green Hills, Bohma**

"Olly?" George sat next to the ginger boy who was sitting alone on a bench at the backyard, "Why are you alone here?"

"I'm just thinking…"

"Thinking about what?"

"Nothing…"

"Nothing? You look sad"

"I'm just thinking…Maddy has a father. All my friends have a father… even my little brother has a father – you. And I don't…"

"You have me… always had" the man spoke feeling a bit hurt

"You're not my father… no offense."

"Offense not taken"

"Next year is my 10th birthday and I don't even know if my father would like to be present… if he'd like to know me…if he doesn't know about me…"

The man didn't know what to say. He knew Angelique remained in silence about Olly's father all that long and she was aware that he'd have the curiosity and just waited that day to come…that day had finally come!

"Why mommy never told me anything about him?"

"She must have had her reasons"

"Is he a bad man?"

George thought. He couldn't take part on that. He knew Angelique's version of the facts and he had taken his own conclusions on the matter. He was an acquaintance of the grand duke and had only met Christopher's side as a high profile official, his side as Maddy's father and the husband of the grand duchess Katarina. He wasn't friends with him. They barely talked when Christopher was rarely in town. He couldn't really judge Christopher as the biological father of Olly nor as Angelique's ex-husband.

"I don't know Olly… that's something you should ask your mother"

"She never told me anything. Why would she answer me that now?"

"Because I'm sure she won't refuse to give you that answer. She's aware that you deserve to know about your father"

"What if she doesn't?"

"Olly…" he took the boy's grip, "Your mother is not like that. She's a sincere person. Don't you trust your mother?"

"I do trust my mother, but…"

"But?"

"But she never demonstrated to want me to care about my father and seemed to evade that subject. So I wondered if it's because he's a bad man"

George inhaled reflexive. He knew he couldn't come between his wife and her son on that subject. Angelique did keep some resentment for Christopher for abandoning her, and Oliver had the natural curiosity to know his roots. He had to be impartial.

"Olly…I understand you want to know your origins and I don't think you're wrong to want that. You're a smart kid, but I also believe that your mother had her reasons for keeping in silence and whenever you ask her, please try to understand her instead of judging her because I'm sure she always did everything for your best and not to hurt you… and also, I know it's going to be hard to not create expectations in who your father is… you should also be prepared to an eventual rejection…I'm not saying he will reject you, please, don't get me wrong… but it's been years and you don't know how his life is"

"Do you know him?"

The man swallowed in distress. Olly threw the hot potato in his hands. However, he was saved by the bell as Maggie called them to have their meal.

* * *

 **Northman Palace**

Pierce was standing in the balcony, distant in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his wife standing at his side.

"Is there anything wrong?" the blonde asked

He let out a long sigh staring the forest surrounding the palace, "Don't know if wrong the word is"

"What do you mean?"

He turned his face to look at her and smiled faintly, "Don't worry Eli…"

"I'm already worried my love… it's been a while you seem so distant"

"I have a decision to make, but it's not related to you or the kingdom…"

"What's about it?"

"It's a personal matter…of a friend"

"Christopher?"

He grinned, "Not exactly"

"Kat?"

He took her grip, "It's another friend. Don't worry about it anymore"

"If you tell me what's the subject, I might try to help you"

He shook his head in denial, "I don't want you to get involved in this"

"You're scaring me this way"

"You don't have to be scared, so please, don't ask any more questions. It's my own responsibility to make things right for that friend, or try to…"

"Will you at least tell me the friend's name?"

Before Pierce could answer her, they heard a noise on the door. Her nephews and niece coming in to greet them happily.

Pierce let out a relieved sigh glad with interruption. He touched his suit's pocket and felt a paper.

 **Flashback**

Pierce visited the Lake Manor as the usual routine. Even after a decade, Christopher had asked him to take care of the Lake Manor and the land in the Peasant's Province with the cleaning and maintenance. Christopher's sanctuaries.

One day, he paid a visit routine to the Lake Manor and suspected of something. The locker position was different. He opened the door slowly and walked slowly the living room until the dining table.

He frowned.

On the table, there was an evidence that someone had entered that manor besides him.

A letter that meant lives change.

"For Angelique and Christopher"

The brunette duke whispered reading the addressing.

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

Katarina searched for Maddy and Oliver. They weren't in the front backyard anymore.

"Where in the hell are those rascals!" she cursed mentally as she walked in a hurry through the corridors

She turned to the left and bumped into someone

"You fool!" she yelled seeing her luxurious green gown covered with ink

"I'm sorry your highness, I… I was distracted and didn't hear you" the other female spoke apologetic

"I should…" Katarina left her sentence in hang as she took a better glimpse on the other redhead woman looking down. Redhead, ink in her hands, "Are you the royal painter and the mother of Oliver?"

"Yes your highness"

Katarina smiled, "So you are forgiven for bumping into me. I believe that was just fate working"

"Fate working for me to ruin your highness' gown?"

Katarina laughed, "I loved your sense of humor! But not for that"

"How can I serve your highness?" the redhead spoke disguising her distress, always avoiding looking in the eyes of the brunette

"I was looking for you"

"Looking for me? Why?" Angelique replied, her heart almost jumped out of her mouth

"Yes. I heard about your phenomenal skills as a painter and I have seen that you are really good at it, but I need to know how long do you take to finish a painting?"

"That depends on the painting, the size, my available time…"

"I will compensate your time very well!"

Angelique smiled faintly looking to the side. She really had a hard time facing that woman.

"I want to hire your services. Soon my husband and I will celebrate ten years of marriage and I want that remarkable date to be immortalized by your talent"

Angelique's voice trembled and demanded some effort from her to be able to speak, "You want me to paint your family?"

"Yes, but I also want solo paintings of each of us, however in my husband's case I want his solo painting to be a surprise. Have you met my husband?" Katarina asked with a double meaning, she wanted to confirm Christopher's statement that he didn't know the painter

Angelique swallowed. Her mouth went dry, "At distance. We never talked, but I'm good with faces. I just need to look once to keep them in my memory"

"I am glad to hear that. That will be handy with my plan of surprise!"

Angelique bit her lips

"Follow me" Katarina spoke

"Where?"

"To see my husband"

Angelique gave a step back, "I'm sorry, but I can't…"

"I am your priority now. I will highly compensate you, do not worry about it!"

"I'm not concerned about the compensation…it's not even necessary… it's just that…"

"It is an order!"

Angelique couldn't even finish her sentence as Katarina grabbed her by the grip.

The redhead was about to panic. She wasn't feeling good at all. Her head spinning, her heart accelerated, her hands cold sweating, her legs nearly failing to walk. She felt like she could faint at any second.

They approached the chamber where Christopher and the king talked

"Shhh, do not let them know where are here" Katarina whispered to the guards at the entrance, "I just need her to give a glimpse to paint my husband" the grand duchess added

"We can leave your highness…" Angelique spoke stammering

"Already? You did not even look at him! I want him perfect! Take a better a look!" Katarina lectured in whisper

That moment, Christopher sensed the movement at the entrance, looked in their direction, and gave a single nod. Angelique hid behind Katarina who waved and smiled at him.

"Excuse me your majesty. My wife seems to be calling me" Christopher spoke and walked to the entrance door

Katarina looked back as she felt the woman releasing from her and ran away

"Kat? Is there anything wrong?"

Katarina giggled in distress looking back at him, "No, nothing…I just… Ah…Never mind! I am really getting old and I just forgot what I wanted to tell you…"

"Who were with you and ran away?" he asked as he heard the footsteps echoes in the corridor

She laughed in distress, "Some child…" she replied with a cynic smile, "Go back to your business. I will not waste of your time… Say my greetings to Charles and his family for me" she gave a peck on his lips and left

Christopher frowned at the suspicious behavior of his wife, but ignored it and returned to the interior of chamber.

Katarina squeezed her hands, angry. The cynical smiles gave space to a bitter expression on her face. Walking in a hurry, she looked for the stupid painter.

Angelique ran the corridors. Panicked. His face was so vivid in her memory. He was older, but still the same. She wasn't ready for that.

She wasn't ready to face him, especially in the presence of Katarina, his stunning wife.

She wanted to disappear, but she couldn't. Oliver had finally questioned her about his biological father and she promised him she would give him a proper answer on his whereabouts. She had that pendency. And then fate made her bump into Katarina and be dragged to see him and almost face him after 10 years. She wasn't ready for that. And surely not would be him!

Running away was for the best at that moment. She ran faster before she could be reached. Turning quickly to her right, she bumped into someone and fell to the ground.

"Angely? I'm sorry!"

"Pierce!" she replied as he gave her an aid to stand up

"Why are you running like that?"

"Pierce, we talk later… I need to go home!" she spoke in a hurry

Pierce frowned suspecting of the redhead's behavior and continued his way. Soon after, he spotted Katarina who didn't have a good look on her face.

"Did you see the stupid painter passing by?"

"Yeah, why?"

She rolled her eyes, "Do you know where she is?"

Pierce kept in silence. He seemed to have understood why Angely was running away, or more exactly, whom the redhead was running away from. His eyes noticed the ink stain on her gown.

"No, I don't. She only passed by… why?"

"Dammit. I do not know how professional and sane that woman can be to deserve all the compliments, but I am sure that she is a very impolite woman!"

Pierce laughed

"If you see her again, ask her if she kept Christopher's face and when she can deliver me his painting, will you?"

He made a face, "You asked her to paint him?"

"Yes! I asked her to follow me so she could take a better glimpse of his face to draw his gift, but the damn woman just ran away like a crazy and made me seem a clown before him! Ah, and do not tell that to him! It is a surprise!"

"My lips are sealed…as the usual…"

She smiled and looked at his lips, licking her seductively.

"Stop flirting with me Kat…" he spoke noticing her

"I cannot help it. It comes naturally when I see you"

"It could be my painting, but I'm not. It could be our anniversary, but it's not… I mean, kind of… Happy 10th Kat…" he said passing by hair

She grabbed him by his wrist and whispered on his ear, "You know you are the only one that could still have a chance with me…"

He turned his face to her, they were inches away and could feel each other's breathing, "You made your choice and please, respect your sister if you cannot respect your husband!"

She laughed, "You can pretend to be tough as you want, but your… eyes cannot denial that I am still vivid in your memories!"

Pierce ignored her words and continued his way. She was right, but he couldn't let her confirm it.

Katarina inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. Her eyes widened as she recognized the serious voice next her in the opposite corridor.

"Katarina"

It was Christopher. He had just caught her in the action.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Alright, a lot of details were thrown here!  
We are heading to some decisive moments and important moments of the wheel of time.**

 **Stay tuned!**


	29. Postpone

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

"Where is it? Damn it!" Kate cursed searching her purse before leaving late from work

Chris was passing by on his way to the elevators and noticed the young woman. It was very late for her to still being there, maybe she was working for extra hours he thought. He got curious, but hesitant in asking any question, as she looked upset. He pressed the elevator's button.

"Do you think they will mind if I sleep in the dorm room?" she asked randomly

Chris looked to the side, "Are you asking me?"

"Yeah… do you see anyone else here?"

He made a face, "I don't think so… the dorm rooms are for the employees… any particular reason?"

"I can't go home. I'm locked here, maybe I'll have to move here until someone save me from my stupidity of forgetting my wallet home because I switched purses…" she murmured

He laughed. So dramatic he thought.

"It's not funny!"

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help the way you spoke…"

"If Piers was here I'd ask for his help"

"How much do you need for you to take a cab?" Chris asked straight to the point after checking his watch

She made a face. A bit hesitant, "I live far… it will be expensive…"

He shrugged, "Yeah but a girl like you walking alone this time of the night can be dangerous as well to take a bus…"

"You don't have to do this… I'll spend the night here…"

"Kate… where do you live?"

She hesitated for a moment but finally answered his question, "You don't have to do that… I know you live in the opposite direction…"

"I guess this is your lucky night",

"Is it?"

He nodded, "My girlfriend lives to that side, it's my route so I guess I can give you a ride, if you want…"

She made a thoughtful face. She wanted that offer but at the same time, she was reluctant accepting it.

The elevator arrived.

"So, are you going with me or not?" he asked holding the door

She let out a sigh and took her purse, "Well…one day I'll have to go home, right?" she replied walking to his direction, "Thank you…" she said as they entered the cabin

"No problem"

They remained in silence all the way to his car. Uncomfortable silence. Her heart was so accelerated and she was so restless. She never felt so agitated near someone, some guy like she did at that moment. There was a strange aura about him. Between them. She wondered if he felt the same. She avoided looking at him.

It was nice from Chris Redfield to offer her a ride. He did save her ass that day as she couldn't afford going back home and he was right to think about her security that time of the night. A girl like her walking alone in the streets as she still depended on public transportation.

She sat on the passengers' seat and finally noticed how good his scent was. Obviously for his girlfriend. Wait a minute, Chris Redfield had a girlfriend? Lucky woman… or maybe not, as he used to spend so much time absent. Just like Piers…

A silent drive. That man and that girl didn't seem to share any mutual bond or whatever word would describe it. He was like unreachable in his silence and attentive to the traffic. She was restless and kind of backed off for the wall between them. He made a nice gesture but that was all. It was like she wasn't even there.

But she was. There was a girl at his side. In his car. A girl that wasn't his girlfriend. He didn't turn on the radio as the usual when he drove. That girl caused in him some disturbance. He knew she was cool and he also knew of Piers and hers proximity. He didn't care about their business. All he cared was to drive safely in the uncomfortable silence between them. He felt restless. He didn't regret giving her a ride, doing his charity of the day, but he didn't feel like bonding with her. He only cared of getting in Cathy's home for dinner and to spend the night as her son Zac was spending the weekend with his father.

Thirty long minutes of silence. Chris stopped his car in front of the building she said she lived.

"Safe and sound. Don't forget your wallet tomorrow"

"Or the days after tomorrow!" she spoke jokingly

"Yeah, you got it right"

"Thank you Chris…"

"No problem"

She left the car and passed in front of his car to reach the sidewalk. Chris waited for her to reach the sidewalk when suddenly she fell and heard her scream. Concerned he left the car and saw her sitting on the ground.

"Kate, are you alright?" he asked kneeling next to her

"Not a lucky day… the stupid heel broke and my ankle hurts…"

He checked it, "It looks like your ankle sprained"

"Great!"

"It doesn't seem serious." He spoke helping her stand up, "Can you walk?"

She tried again, despite the pain, but almost fell again

"I can take you to the hospital…" he said

"No, no… no hospital. It's not necessary. I'll be fine, thanks" she replied trying to walk alone again

He checked his watch again. Seeing her difficulty to walk, he exhaled and stepped closer to her to give her a help.

"What's your apartment?"

"17th floor. Apartment 1707"

He held her by the waist and was about to kneel to lift her up with his left hand

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to carry you…to preserve your ankle"

"No, it's not necessary… I can try to walk with your support"

"We'll take forever to get there…"

"Right! Sorry, I forgot your girlfriend is waiting…"

He made a face of confirmation and then gave her a piggyback. What a good scent he had! Dang!

He released her when they stood before her apartment's door.

"Thank you a bunch Chris…and I'm sorry for delaying you so much…"

"It's alright. I was born to help people…"

"Yes, you definitely did" she said opening the door and turned on the lights

From the door, Chris could see how organized her condo was. Everything so clean, and modern design and perfumed. A contrast with someone that didn't have a car. Maybe she was afraid to drive, he thought.

Giving her an extra help, he carried her to the couch and laid her on it.

"Oh, my damn wallet!" she said grabbing it

"Where's the kitchen?" he asked

"There" she said pointing out

Quickly he headed to the kitchen and carried a fabric and a bowl with water

"You'd better put ice on it and you could also switch putting it in a hotter water because the differences of temperature help. That will diminish the swelling and stuff…"

"Okay."

He was still holding her ankle when he looked around, "Do you live alone?" he asked casually

"Yes"

He made a face, "Congratulations. You have good taste and seems to be a neat freak" he said jokingly

She laughed, "A little bit… maybe that's what happens when you know the furniture won't clean themselves or the dishes wash alone…which would be creepy…"

He laughed a bit, "Yeah… poltergeist…in my case I guess the poltergeist actually keeps my condo messy if it wasn't for my house cleaner."

"Men usually are poltergeist by nature, that's why sometimes they need a woman to keep it clean"

He made a face, "There's some logic in what you say" he checked his watch again and inhaled, letting out a long sigh, "Now I have to go"

"I know…and once again, thank you a bunch! I owe you one!"

"Nah, you don't owe me anything… things like that happen"

"I won't forget my wallet anymore! I've learned my lesson" she said pointing to her ankle

"Yeah… take care Kate and put a bandage around it and keep your ankle high, move your toes and do soft stretching to better the blood circulation in the area and the movements"

"I will do that, thank you doctor"

He laughed, "I'm no doctor, but I can relate to that stuff"

"I'm sure you do!" she smiled friendly

"Good night Kate"

"Good night Chris"

Katerina watched the muscular captain leave. His perfume still lingering in her clothes, in the air. She couldn't stop smiling and was glad they had broken the ice.

* * *

Chris arrived in his girlfriend's condo and it didn't take long for her to open the door for him.

"I'm sorry for the delay…" he spoke apologetic and greeted her with a kiss

The woman made a face as he passed by her and frowned, "Why did you take so long?"

"I left later than the usual… I was doing some paper work"

"Only paper work?" she asked to test him. Since when papers were so perfumed? She thought.

"Yeah, and then I helped Kate by giving her a ride home"

"Kate the receptionist?" Cathy asked raising an eyebrow

"Yeah, the one"

She knew very well that perfume fragrance, and wondered what kind of "help" he gave at her home as she could smell the bitch's perfume that was impregnated in all over his clothes.

"Dinner is already cold" she spoke dryly

"I don't mind…we can warm it up…" he said grabbing her by the waist with a seductive expression as he leaned to kiss her

She turned her face to the side, rejecting him

"You still mad for my delay?"

"No"

"So for what?"

"You should've had taken a shower…"

"I was about to…" he said

"Before coming home with the bitch's scent all over you" she murmured with her arms crossed

He rolled his eyes and laughed, "You're jealous of her… it's not what you're thinking"

"And what am I thinking?"

"For your jealous, it's obvious that you think I was with Kate in another way… but it's not like that!"

"You're smelling her!"

"Yeah, I gave her a piggyback. She almost broke her ankle after I dropped her by her building apartment"

"So you're saying that if I go to your car and smell her scent in it is because you gave her a ride and that's all?"

"Yeah, and then I gave her a piggyback until her apartment because she couldn't walk and refused to go to a hospital"

The woman looked at him with incredulity. She knew men crushed Kate in the BSAA. She was young, beautiful, communicate and apparently funny. A bubbly soul. A girl still in her twenties and lover of adventures. Piers had fallen to the girl's charming. She was a threat to men's relationships. Sophie Home was a victim of bubbly Kate. Her relationship with Piers seemed to go worse day by day.

And Chris? Well… he was a man. A cranky man. A grumpy man. Still… a man! He didn't mind getting laid with some of his coworkers and despite saying he loved her, he still kept their relationship under covers.

Kate was a player! Women knew that. Women tended to dislike Kate and her bubble. And Cathy was no different. She started to see Kate as a new and imminent threat.

Kate and her ankle was just the start…

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

Katarina smiled. Cynically. As Christopher stared at her with a serious expression.

Jealous. She could see the evident jealousy in his eyes.

"It is not what you are thinking…" she spoke calmly

"What am I thinking?"

"Piers and i… behind your back…"

He shook his head in denial, "No… I don't think you have done anything behind my back"

"No?"

"No… You've done anything right into my face!"

She frowned not knowing what to say

"I always knew he had feelings for you. I always knew you liked the attention he gave to you… or any man's. You never hid that side of yours from me! So nothing was behind my back… plus I gave you permission, right?"

"A permission I never enjoyed! I have been faithful to you all this marriage long!"

"Yes, I know. We have discussed that"

He stepped closer to her, grabbed her firmly by the waist and whispered on her ear, "In order to continue 'faithful' to me, stop teasing him and start to respect your sister!"

She turned only her eyes to him. She had an indecipherable smile. A mix of seduction and mischief perhaps.

Footsteps getting closer. A female silhouette walking in the corridor.

"You know how excited you got me now…" Katarina spoke with an unreadable tone, grabbed firmly his forearm, and turned her face to him. Slowly. Seductively. She pulled him by the neck and kissed him.

The female stopped.

Christopher kissed his wife back and turned her body to him. They kissed passionately. He was excited as well.

Katarina kissed him with tongue and opened her eyes to stare the woman paralyzed watching them. saddened. Affected. Katarina made sure to let the woman watch them seemly to start a makeout. She provoked the woman's jealousy with her tongue and Christopher's dancing in their mouths. In their wet kiss.

The provocation took eternal seconds for Cathlyn to handle. She knew Katarina was doing that on purpose. To inflict her damage for still having that man at her side. Desiring her. Katarina was proving her she managed to make him forget the widower duchess.

Cathlyn only felt his lips once and she still remembered how it felt like. They didn't have a wet kiss, but they kissed. She was close to a threat to the grand duchess in the past. Yet, she still envied the stunning brunette. Katarina had him all. She didn't. She was definitely jealous for seeing them together and he oblivious to her presence at that corridor. He didn't care if anyone could be watching them in such an intimate moment.

Katarina loved the attention and she loved even more to let the other women know how crazy men – that man – got for her. Unable to leave her.

Cathlyn walked to the nearby corridor, fighting her tears. She didn't want the brunette woman to witness her weakness. However, a brief thought came to her, making her stop pitying herself. In the past, she had the chance to have Christopher in her arms. In the past, they kissed and definitely, he would want more. She was close to a threat to the imposing brunette. She was capable to make him cede and surrender to his desire for her. He wasn't exclusive of Katarina, yet at that moment Cathlyn smiled because… Katarina had Christopher's body and had a part of his heart… However, the triumph didn't belong to any of the brunettes. The real triumph belonged to the redhead girl that still lied in Christopher's soul.

Katarina and Christopher stopped kissing. She smiled largely to him.

"You do not need to be jealous my love…"

"It wasn't jealous… I had only asked you to be discreet! Imagine if it wasn't me catching you!"

She laughed, "You were so jealous! But I like it… it shows you care and that you really love me!"

"I love you Kat, but showing respect to other's marriages is good too"

"You are absolutely right! Forgive my bad move…I just wanted to have some fun and not take it for real…"

"What happened to your dress?" he changed subjects

"Ah… the painter bumped into me, accidentally" she leaned close to his ear, "Will you help me undress?" she spoke seductively

"What painter?"

"The girl… Maddy's teacher" she replied trying to lead him to their chambers

He widened his eyes, "You know her?"

"Yes. I just met her…But forget it…" she smiled trying to seduce him

"Where did she go?"

"I do not know and I do not care! Shall we go to our chambers?"

"You have Lucy to help you with that. I have other things to do…"

Katarina held him firmly by the grip and stared at him.

Christopher looked into his wife's eyes and could see the anger forming in it. He let out a long sigh in defeat. His other subjects could wait and somehow it was better keep Katarina calm for as long as he could. With no further resistance, the couple headed to their chambers and released their fire on each other. Also, Katarina deserved to be "punished" for her misbehavior.

* * *

 **Green Hills, Talbot's Manor**

She ran. She so ran! She ran just like the old days when she reached the limit of the abuses and mistreats. She used to hide in the Lake Manor and in the safety of her mother's embrace. Her support. She so missed that! Her advises. Her words of wisdom. Her presence…

Now she ran to another manor – her husband's. She didn't have her mother, but had Maggie. She didn't want to feel ungrateful, but her mother-in-law couldn't fit that role she so needed. The safety she needed. The safety from her own dilemmas. The courage to face her final decision.

Seeing Christopher so close, made her ground shake like an earthquake. He still had so much impact in her. She wasn't ready for that confrontation, much less at the presence of his prestigious wife.

Everybody knew Katarina's temper when opposite.

She wasn't ready to face two storms at the same time. So she ran… she ran for her own safety. For his own safety. For their own safeties.

Maggie was in the living room while she watched her newborn grandson. That was her new favorite activity, taking care of her so expected grandson. A child that took almost 10 years to be born. A child that the young girl she once saved her life and of her unborn child's, gave her with her eldest son. A great surprise. The best wedding gift.

An hour passed. Angelique was still alone in her chambers when Maggie came to check on her.

"Angely?"

The redhead remained in silence staring the window

"You saw him, didn't you?" the woman had an exclamation tone

Angelique nodded in confirmation, "How do you know?" she asked turning to the woman

"Because only he has that strong effect on you"

Angelique let out a sigh, "Am I that transparent?"

The woman nodded, "About him yes"

"He's Olly's father…"

"And is also your first love…"

The redhead looked down and turned to stare the window once again

"I'm not judging you, sweetheart. I don't judge you. I know you'd never try to hurt me or my son, but I know Christopher was an important figure in your life. Remarkable… and you two share a bond."

"He thinks Olly is George's son… how can he be so oblivious to their resemblance?"

"Men are slow for those details…"

"He spends time with Olly! Teach him things and has become an inspiration to him… how can't he feel their connection? That it's his blood in Olly's veins?"

The woman stepped closer and placed her hands on the redhead's shoulders in support, "I know it's not an easy decision for you… I know it's hard to face such a painful past and deal with the truth…"

"I don't think he deserves it!"

"Do you still think he abandoned you deliberately?"

Angelique remained in silence

"Didn't his friend told you other things?"

"He could be lying! He didn't tell me where to find Christopher that day seven years ago just to protect Katarina!"

"True, but the things he told you about Christopher and you don't seem to be an act of her protection…"

"He's a player! I don't believe him and I won't believe Christopher either… those three are the same scum for me!"

"So that means you'll break your promise to Olly? That you'd try to find his father?"

"Olly's father is George!"

Margareth Talbot remained in silence. Angelique had been punctual about her position on the matter… Angelique was still too resented with that man…the man she still loved. Her resentment was equal to the love she tried to suppress…the man that took her innocence away.

* * *

 **Unknown Location, Bohma**

"Here I take the first step to the throne, a throne that wasn't intended for me, but as the people's desire…" Christopher announced, "Together to the end. For our relatives. For our children. For Bohma" he added

"The plan basically comes down to: infiltrating the castle, kidnapping the king and his family. I have already provided weapons for the invasion" said the army commander Pierce Northman

"And make him sign the renunciation of the throne in favor of Christopher" Katarina added

"And what are we going to do with the king afterwards?" asked Leonard Keane

"I propose that he'll be exiled" Christopher replied.

"This can be a problem! An exiled prince of the crown or a bastard can always reclaim the throne" Katarina said

"This is a non-negotiable condition. I will not have the blood of any sovereign in my hands." His life must be preserved, plus, everybody knows the king of Edonia doesn't have live offspring by now" Katarina's husband spoke determined

"What about the queen? What are we going to do with her?" A rebel asked

"We are fighting for justice, we are not murderers. She shall be exiled too" rebuffed the grand duke

"As soon as we leave the castle with them, Christopher has to be proclaimed the new ruler of Edonia. It is essential to calm the people and gain the support of all" said Pierce

"As soon as the day dawns, I will bring to the people a convocation for his official pronouncement" Katarina replied

"What about king Charles?" a rebel asked

"He is on our side… this is actually for him" Katarina replied almost dryly

.

.

.

 _The 10_ _th_ _anniversary of Katarina and Christopher's marriage was just an excuse to reunite all the people involved in the invasion of Edonia. After years under the domain of Edonia, leading Bohma to a state of decadence. Charles' diplomatic demeanor and fragile health made him a weak king and unable to free Bohma from the influence of Edonia._

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **A/N: I changed Katarina's name in the 21st from Katherine to Katerina. Her surname will be changed too.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Dilemmas and more dilemmas. Christopher ascending to a throne and Angelique still fearing her past. These two continue postponing the inevitable future. The inevitable truth. The inevitable encounter. They can postpone as much as they want, but the wheel of time always turns.  
And sometimes, postpones can cause or bring unnecessary pain...**

 **" _Destiny is a sequence of cycles_**

 ** _Nothing truer. When cycles are closed inside you, soon others start. You change your pattern and life changes the answer._**

 ** _This life-wheel of life always brings pleasant surprises, whose essential purpose is to fulfill destiny._  
 _Destiny can be considered "what comes next," when you are ready for that "after", and prepare for what comes next._**

 ** _Some would like to call this a lucky destination, but it's nothing like that. Luck is a narrow concept word for this theme. Destiny is life putting you where you did not expect, nor imagined. Destiny is the opportunity that life gives you to use everything that was the fruit of your preparation._  
**

 _ **Just change your inner pattern and there it comes, life, fagging and even nearly frightening, inviting to learn something new through unexpected, pleasantly unpredictable ways, designing your personal destiny.**_

 ** _Book: Paths to self love_ "**


	30. The Awful Truth

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Royal Chambers  
**

"Your Highness called me?" Pierce asked as he entered the chamber.

"Yes. I intend to move to this chamber soon, but first I want you to remove everything in here"

"I don't understand. The chambers seems in perfect condition…" he replied looking around

Katarina smiled cynically, "Nothing that was touched by the former queen can be considered in perfect condition. If I could, I would sterilize the rest of the air breathed in here by her."

"If that's the problem, may your highness rather stay in another chamber..."

She interrupted him, "No. I want to be right here... so that there will not have any doubts that the former queen will never return to Edonia and that a new empress has occupied her place!"

"In any case, your highness..." he insisted a little more, even vexed

"It is an order! You owe me obedience, Pierce!" she said firmly walking away

The man let out a long sigh as he heard the new self-entitled empress footsteps getting distant.

* * *

 **A couple of days later**

 _The invasion was not all roses, people disliked their new self-entitled empress. The Bohman intruders._

"Two weeks of celebration..." Katarina spoke letting out a sigh

"And almost a thousand guests..." he lady-in-waiting added

"Who made that decision?"

"Charles…"

Katarina rolled her eyes exhaling, "It is not wise at all to celebrate this beginning in this way. Everyone here hates us!"

"I'm afraid that it is true your highness"

"That is not what I have to worry about right now. I have to prove to all that I will be a great regent for Edonia"

"And how does your highness intend to do that?"

"Very patiently, Lucy!"

* * *

 **Secret Garden, Castle of Edonia**

"I cannot believe that the king of Bohma was capable of such folly. He should be one who should've had moved here and rule the two states, but no...Among so many nobles…"Jillian Valence, the noblewoman from the court of Edonia murmured

"Charles has been ill ultimately and everyone knows he always trusted Christopher…" Leonard Keane replied with a shrug

"Charles uses Christopher as his scapegoat, but in reality he's giving all the power to that…" she paused letting out an annoyed sigh, "He chose that woman... the most hated woman of the court..."

Leonard frowned in confusion, "Are we talking about Charles or Christopher now?"

"Both!" she almost yelled

He gasped, "She's smart…"

"A witch! She's not even that all she thinks she is. She's so dull..."

"Don't be unfair... Katarina is beautiful..."

"You have no credit defending her! You're a man and…!" She rolled her eyes leaving her sentence incomplete, "She's like burial cemeteries…"

"Burial cemeteries?"

"On the outside beautiful, but inside rotten dirty and abominable…"

He made a face not knowing what to say

"What's the use of being beautiful on the outside but being rotten on the inside? Physical beauty is all she has because in fact she is arrogant and snobbish... I don't know how Christopher chose her to marry!" she let out a sigh

"I think it was just the opposite. It was she who chose him to get married"

"It's unbelievable! One day she was just a bubbly and horny noblewoman and now she will sit on the throne... Ugh, I tell you, my sovereign she will never be!"

The couple heard a noise and stopped talking. They saw Katarina along her lady-in-waiting coming their way. Katarina appeared, interrupting the couple. Leonard bowed at the sight of her.

"Please. No need to be embarrassed. I understand that you have this opinion about me... but I believe that in time you will know me better and change the judgment you make about me today... At least I hope so." Katarina smiled slightly

The couple exchanged gazes in silence.

"Have a nice day," Katarina said as she passed them

Leonard revered in silence. Jillian remained still; looking to the side. She didn't feel like revering that intruder.

Leon laughed. He knew Jillian strong principles and how tight to them she used to be, even that at times she could be considered quite a petulant for not letting go of them. She disliked Katarina and didn't fear demonstrating that and she'd never apologize for being so real.

He liked that about her. He admired her for that. They had that in common – being solid to their principles. He just hoped Katarina wouldn't see that as a threat and take Jillian as her enemy.

Not that Jillian cared being called that either…

* * *

 **Royal Chambers, Castle of Edonia**

"I have just got an idea!" Katarina said with an excited smile

"What idea?"

"I will personally distribute food to the needy" she commented with her favorite maiden

"I agree that it will cause a good impression on the people" said the lady-in-company

"But there will always be the ungrateful ones who will continue to speak crap of me behind my back like Jillian… and that is precisely the reason why I would also need someone of confidence, someone who circulates around the city, who sees how people react and, of course, keeps me informed" Katarina said thoughtful

"Perhaps that merchant, who came to the castle to get money from Leonard…" the lady-in-waiting suggested

"Yes, I remember that. Leonard's brother… Nicholas. Set a date with him here at the castle, all very discreetly" she ordered the maiden

* * *

 **Library, Castle of Edonia**

Pierce Northman needed a moment for himself. Since the invasion to Edonia, whatever he knew of order was a mess. Katarina was focused in using all of her diplomacy and charisma to conquer people's trust and good visibility. Christopher handling the military affairs and the exile of the former royal family. Leonard and he dealing with the castle's security. Soon, Charles would make the official announcement of Edonia's territory being aggregated to Bohma.

He wrote letters to his wife Elizabeth to keep her informed and less preoccupied with that insanity that seemed to work, however, there was one letter that he kept to himself. The letter found in the Lake Manor. He still had that decision to make. So he watched the people who would be affected with its content.

" _Dear Angelique  
Dear Christopher  
Or whoever reads it_

 _A decade passed since that day…_

 _My guilty conscience never rests and doesn't allow me to forget it._

 _A secret that I'm carrying to my grave and I shouldn't._

 _I can't…_

 _So I'm writing this letter to release some of the guilt as my final days approach. This disease that is consuming my body yet my conscience has been in remorse since day one._

 _Since the day, my firstborn came to this world. That innocent ginger child. The sweet green-eyed girl and my blood: Angelique._

 _My daughter_

 _I know I have never been a good father to you, perhaps I have never been a father to you. Always so distant and absent. At times aggressive._

 _I know I have been cruel to you…_

 _I failed as your father._

 _I never forgot how you were conceived, my biggest shame and the cowardice of never taking the responsibility of my own actions._

 _I treated you like trash. As an enemy._

 _What an idiot I am!_

 _Still… you grew up with a strong personality, yet you still didn't know it. So absorbed in your own world protected you somehow, but made you oblivious to your other talents._

 _Your shyness was just a mask covering the power you have. The strength you have. Maybe that changed a bit…or a lot… as I heard you ran away from the convent, alone… to fight for your child._

 _You did what I didn't._

 _Your stubbornness and your love for the child. The courage to take responsibility for your actions has made you a brave mother._

 _Not a coward like me._

 _I made you and ran away…emotionally and sentimentally, and often absent physically._

 _I'm not proud of myself._

 _I'm so ashamed for my cruelty with you and with my grandchild._

 _I was relieved somehow that you didn't lose your child because of me…because your screams never stopped echoing in my head and how much you protected your belly, unconsciously that you were defending your child while I…poured on you all my anger and frustration…_

 _Dammit! What a monster I am! I could've killed both of you! Dammit!_

 _And all in order of greed!_

 _The witch of your stepmother threw a spell on me, blinded me!_

 _All because of money! Evil money!_

 _The evil in form of Katarina O'Gregon!_

 _Her money only brought us disasters and pain._

 _Now you're an only child. I'm the last alive – for now – member of your family, besides your child that I pray every day to live on._

 _Amelia… I never heard from her in two years._

 _I tried to find you, but since the king declared you dead, it seems to be impossible to ever find you._

 _So I came to the Lake Manor and noticed how clean and well maintained it is. In hope, it's you…_

 _I always knew you liked this place._

 _I've stayed here for a few days, but, no one came. It doesn't seem anyone lives here. There are no clothes. No paintings. No life._

 _I have been an accomplice to your disgrace…yours and Christopher's_

 _He doesn't know what kind of wife he has!_

 _I tried to talk to him, but I learned he moved to another province with his evil wife and their children._

 _A fake marriage!_

 _He's a good man and doesn't deserve to live such a lie…like I did!_

 _I so regret that…that witch's fine jewelry bought my silence! Bought her marriage and bought your disgrace, my daughter. My Angelique!_

 _Please, forgive me!_

 _You have all the reasons to not forgive me and honestly, I don't think I deserve it._

 _My disease is my punishment and a punishment I kind of embrace…for my cruelty and cowardice._

 _But I can't leave this world without letting you know the truth. I managed to keep one necklace with the O'Gregon's family insignia. That was part of the payment Katarina made with Amelia for their pact._

 _Afraid that Katarina could find out that we lied to her about your death, we sold our manor and moved to other provinces until we went broke._

 _I hope that with this evidence you may believe that there was a real pact between those women and I have been a stupid accomplice, but not anymore._

 _I hope this necklace proves her fraud and hope that way Christopher may prove and can annul his marriage to the evil Katarina O'Gregon._

 _Angelique, my beloved daughter. I know we will ever meet again…_

 _And as I write this final letter, I pray for god to bless you, your child, your family, your path._

 _I don't pray for god's forgiveness as I have asked him for His punishment. He listened to my request. So I hope He will listen to me again and bless your life._

 _If there's any after life… I'll continue watching out for you and wishing that you and Christopher can live your love._

 _May god bless your love._

 _With all my love,_

 _Your father_ "

Pierce let out a long sigh. The necklace was inside a little bag over the letter. He kept it in a secret compartment inside the wall in the Lake Manor.

He heard footsteps and quickly kept the letter in his suit's pocket and looked at Katarina who was smiling at him.

"Writing for my sister?"

"Yes"

"Again?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"No problem at all… it is just pathetic you trying to hide the letter before I could read…just like a young boy…"

"Whatever I write to my wife is not of your concern…"

"It is when I feel you like acting behind my back…"

He smirked, "What?"

"I know you Pierce…" she leaned closer to him and tried to touch his chest and reach his pocket, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her advance. She smiled with mischief, "I know you are hiding something from me! It is in your eyes!" she spoke with a mischievous tone

"I'm not hiding anything from you Kat, maybe my eyes reflect your own as I'm not the one who keeps secrets!" he replied not feeling threatened by her

She laughed, "Everyone has secrets and I will find out which yours is!"

He stood up from the chair and faced her, "My secret is your secret" and without a warning, he pulled her to him and kissed her

She was reluctant, but for a second she did correspond to his kiss. And when she corresponded, he let go of her and smiled with mischief.

.

.

.

 _After years, Pierce Northman learned how to play Katarina's game…_

* * *

 **Lake Manor**

Angelique, George and their children Oliver and Victor decided to spend some time in the Lake Manor. The redhead woman wanted her children to create memories in her favorite spot. That manor… the manor that meant so much to her. The manor that took her innocence away.

Willing to overcome her past, Angelique was ready to move on from her sweet memories with Christopher. It was about time to make that paralyzed moment at the lake to flow.

"It's really a beautiful and peaceful place!" George spoke mesmerized

"I told you so!" she replied happily

"I could live here forever!" he spoke admiring the lake and the nature around them

She smiled.

Forever… That's what he said. Christopher.

That's what they said. She and Christopher.

That's what he said. George…

She wanted to say that with George. But couldn't…

Yet…

"I will cook something for us. You watch the children" she said with a kind smile

A few days had passed since the Talbot's arrived at the Lake Manor. To create new memories. To create a new shelter.

Dang, it was so hard for Angelique the first night. Especially the night when George wanted to make love with her. It felt like Christopher was there. Watching them.

She was so nervous just like in her first time… somehow it was like a first time… But George did manage to ease her in all he could, besides not knowing why she was so nervous.

Just like Christopher, he also didn't know he was her first, although he could guess it.

Probably George could guess it too… the real reason of her nervousness…

He preferred to ignore it… just like he did in all those years with her. He ignored her feelings for Christopher. That was the only way he knew how to deal with that ghost…

They seemed to have success to bring life to that place again. Oliver loved playing in the lake. Victor was still too small to understand what was going on around him. He was a five months old baby. He was still starting his life.

Victor was the start of their new life. As a couple. As a family. At the lake.

But there was Oliver… The continuation of Christopher. And he was conceived at that manor.

The lake manor somehow meant The Start. The start of stories. The start of things. The start of cycles… New paintings.

And the end…

And the continuation.

One day, while George was watching the children, Angelique was cleaning the manor when she noticed a loosen brick in the chamber that once Christopher had stayed.

That manor and its secrets…

Even after spending so many years there, she still was oblivious to some of its secrets. She heard from her grandmother that there was secret passages in that manor but she never managed to find any. Not that she looked for either. At least, not with determination to find any.

In a sudden curiosity, she pulled off the brick from the wall and saw a small bag in it. She frowned and took the bag.

She squeezed it to know if there was something in it. There was. She opened it.

Her eyes widened, her lips parted in shock.

A fancy necklace with a green gemstone, emerald.

"K.O'G." she whispered thoughtful, quivering.

Angelique was so absorbed in her new discovery that she didn't even notice George was next to her.

"What's that?" he asked noticing she was holding an object

"I just found this… in that secret compartment" she replied pointing out with her head

"May I see it?"

She nodded in agreement

He frowned as he examined it.

"What face is that?" she asked studying her husband's demeanor

"I know that insignia O'G… and we also know its owner…" the man spoke reluctant to say that O'G. was O'Gregon.

Maybe he didn't have to…

As if reading his mind Angelique tried to disguise her saddened reaction, "This was Christopher's chamber…" her voice nearly escaped

George noticed his wife's sadness and could almost read her mind. Her frustration. Her disappointment. Her anger.

"He brought her here! I can't believe that bastard brought that bitch to MY house! To My bed!" she nearly yelled as tears formed in her eyes, "To my life…" her voice husky

George tried to embrace her in support, but Angelique was too upset to allow to be touched. Angered, she took the necklace from him and threw it from the window.

"He just used me! He lied to me all the long! How much of a fool I was to believe that man! That son of a…!"

Her legs failed to support her weight. She sobbed.

"I can't believe Christopher…and Katarina had been here!"

"It's not impossible as he had a lot of time alone…"

"In my house?! In my land?! In my bed?!" she yelled outraged, "He had no right to do that! Was that his plan? To marry me, kill me and then inherit my patrimony to give to her? Was that his plan?"

George shrugged not knowing what to say

"I so hate Christopher! I can't believe I wasted all these years picturing it all wrong! I saw him as a victim when he's a tormentor! My tormentor! I loved an asshole!" she spoke bitterly, "My son doesn't deserve that crap of a father!"

"Oliver is probably the only good thing that man gave to you…"

"And the only real thing! Olly is real and my love for My son is real! Christopher doesn't deserve Olly and if it depend on me Christopher and Olly will never know they are father and son! Olly will never be a Reed!" she shouted bitter

The couple turned their faces quickly at the door when they heard the noise of Olly's ball falling on the ground. Their faces went blank when they saw the shocked face in the boy's face.

"Olly!" George and Angelique screamed as they saw the little boy running away after hearing the shocking news. After learning the awful truth.

.

.

.

" _A woman fits in many titles and roles in her lifetime. She is someone else at each stage of her life. She is a child. A woman. A mother. If she is a smart and blessed subject of god, she could even become a queen. An empress._

 _What matters is which title and role you see fit for yourself._ "

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Last cover with** **Merve Boluğur as Katarina's current model for the 18th century**

 **The pictures I use for the covers I take from the internet, but the collages are mine.**


	31. Chapter 31

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _We are facing a new era. A time when, above all else, loyalty must be cultivated. But I do not mean your loyalty to a king or a queen. But our loyalty to the people, to you!_

 _I am aware of my mistakes, but I have paid dearly for all of them. For the honor of this honor, which I receive today with great pride, I promise that I will rule in defense of you: of the people of Edonia... All united by the hope of a better future!_ "

.

.

.

* * *

 **Lake Province**

Oliver Talbot ran. In the forest. With nowhere to go.

Finding out the man he so admired was in fact his father caused him a mix of feelings he couldn't really comprehend. Anger. Happiness. Doubts. Disappointment. It was too much for him.

His vision of his mother at that moment wasn't the best either. She knew all the long he was close to his father. She knew all the long how much he wished to know his father, but she kept it all to herself. Omitting the truth from him. His truth. His origin. His male progenitor.

Maddy was his sister! Well… half-sister.

When in fact his dreamed father was there, so close to him.

His mother didn't seem to love him that much as she knew how painful or frustrating it was for him to now know his father. For not having his father like his other friends. Still, she acted like his father didn't exist. His pain and frustration didn't exist. She wanted him to take George as his real father.

He wasn't! George was not his father and never would be! He didn't have his genes!

The boy ran in the forest, ignoring the screams of his parents. He ran until he couldn't hear their voices.

A sudden mist formed.

"Where do you think you're going, child?"

He heard a mysterious female voice. He looked around. Scared.

"Running away from the truth?"

"Who is it?" he yelled

From behind a thick tree, he saw a figure coming.

"Get away!"

"I didn't come to hurt you, child."

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter my name. what matters is the truth"

"What are you talking about? What truth?"

"The truth you longed for your entire life and now here you are… running away"

"My mother lied to me!"

"Did she?"

"She did! I heard her saying if it depended on her I'd never know my father… She doesn't love me. She doesn't care!"

"Ah she does love you! And care immensely about you!"

"No, she doesn't! She had been lying to me my entire life! She promised she would try to contact him and… and I've been close to him all the long! And she acted like he was no one! She's a bad mother!"

"Oh child. Sweet child… don't say that about the woman who gave life to you… you don't all the adversities she had to go through to have you. Don't be an ungrateful son… that woman will give her life for you. For your safety…"

"And my father? Wouldn't he do the same?"

"Ah child, he certainly would! He certainly would face any evil for you…"

"So why? Why can't we be like father and son?"

"Child… you're still so young to understand some things of life… the adversities that separate people who love one another. People with tainted fate… but through you the change of fates will start and the wheel of time will turn…all things have their own pace to happen…"

"I don't understand…"

"Someone will…"

"So what do I do now?"

"Do you really want to know?"

He nodded in confirmation

"Stop running away and face the truth. Don't blind yourself like your parents did in the fog of the truth"

"What? Wait!" he yelled as the woman disappeared.

And so did the fog.

"Olly!"

"Mom…"

Angelique knelt close to him and hugged him tight. Relieved. A couple of hours had passed since they lost track on the child due to the mysterious fog.

"Don't ever disappear like that again! I can't lose you!" she spoke in tears

"But I was here all the long…"

"Olly…I know you're thinking the worst of me, but… but I never intended to harm you with my omission… I just… I just didn't know how to tell you the truth about your father…when you see him in a way I don't…"

"Did he hurt you?"

She covered her mouth holding her tears, "A lot…" she whispered

"Is he a bad man?" the boy asked

She bit her lips, reluctant.

The fog formed again.

"Is Christopher a bad man?"

"He's not to you…" her husky voice

"He's a good father to Maddy and to the others… He's good to people… how could he be a bad man to you?"

"It's complicated Olly… adults' thing…"

"Maybe you should stop running from the truth…"

"What?" the redhead frowned in confusion. That didn't seem to be her son's voice. She blinked and Olly wasn't there anymore. In his place, she saw a mysterious woman. Staring her with an unreadable gaze.

"Who are you?" Angelique asked suspicious

"Whatever they call me…I'm just a messenger"

Angelique frowned thoughtful. From the depths of her memories, she recalled the stories her grandmother used to tell about a witch. A dowser. A seer. A mysterious woman who lived in the forests of the kingdoms.

She never thought that woman did exist.

"What do you want from me?"

"What exactly do you want?" the dowser replied rhetorically

Angelique made a face, "I didn't call you…"

"You called for a message. I have a message for you"

"What message?"

"Stop running away from the truth. Things are not exactly what they seem."

"I don't understand…"

"You do."

"Are you talking about Christopher?"

The dowser made a face, "Christopher… the young knight in the forest…a while ago" she spoke randomly

"You had a message for him too?"

"And for his friend"

Angelique made a face wondering if the friend was Pierce.

"And for the other woman too…"

Angelique turned her eyes to the woman. She frowned. Thoughtful.

"It's been some time ... you found my husband here in the woods, and that day he made a prediction about a woman in his life. Yes, I saw a woman in the way of his life. The hatred. I saw the evil in their lives. He didn't believe…"

"Is this woman of the prophecy me?"

"Why do you think that?"

"I love him so much that I did not think I was capable of bringing hatred into his life... but ever since we met so much has happened... He was running for his life and I saved him in the lake. I gave him shelter, I've risked my life for him and… he always seemed to be running away.

"He was running away from his destiny"

"What?"

"This isn't over yet…"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you the answers that belong to him"

"So please tell me, am I this woman who brought hatred and discord to his life?"

"No…"

"No? So who is this woman?"

The dowser remained in silence for a while, "I only know what appears before my eyes" the dowser paused, "But why does the girl want to know? Come on, ask the question you want to ask"

"You can see the future, can't you?"

"The future is not a straight line. It's winding. It gradually reveals itself. It is like a painting in which we only see the complete result at the end. Sometimes there may be missing a part, but still, we can perceive the image that will form at the end…"

"Is the woman Katarina?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I know Katarina is a bad woman. She's bad to Maddy… and I could see the evil in her eyes the other day…"

"You seem to have your answers but still run away from the truth"

"This truth will bring the discord and I don't want to cause the discord …I never saw a bright future for me, but I do want a bright future for my children…"

"The fate is already written. It doesn't matter what you do, the end is still the same"

"But…"

"You can't stop the wheel of life. The truth is one, but with multiple versions…But now you need to take care, your body has won the venom of the snake, but you will still have other poisons more dangerous than the this one that you will have to face…"

"I just want the evil to end…"

"And it will…"

Angelique opened her eyes and looked to the sides. She saw George and Olly at the bedside table. They smiled at her in relief.

"You're finally awake" the man spoke

"What happened?"

"Mommy. You were beaten by a snake… I'm sorry…" the boy spoke apologetic

"What?" Angelique didn't have any memory of that

"When you found Olly. Soon after, you were beaten… but I've taken care of it with the help of a traveler that was passing by…weird but fortunate…"

"What traveler?"

"A woman. She said she was searching for fruits for the trip while the people in her carriage took some rest nearby"

Angelique made a face, yet remained in silence. She was happy to see her family.

Wondering if all that was just an illusion…

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia**

Katarina was sitting on the chair of the dressing table. She leaned closer to the mirror for a better look of her face. She moved her face skin in several ways, examining it. She frowned in disgust. She didn't like what she was seeing. Some lines of expression. The realization that she was aging. She passed more products and makeup in attempt to disguise it.

"Your majesty" the maiden entered the chamber

"Yes"

"Nicholas Keane has arrived."

Still not knowing what the call came from the castle, the merchant Nicholas Keane was told to enter through a secret passage and waited in a secret garden.

"What can I do for you, your majesty?" He asked bowing the brunette

"That is just what I would like to know…" Katarina replied rhetorically

He made a puzzled face

"You are not an Edonian, so I believe you may have guessed, most of Edonia's population do not like the idea of me as their governor"

"As you may know, not being from Edonia's as well, I think just the opposite"

"That is indeed the reason why I requested you. Because at this moment I need someone like you. I need eyes and ears among the people. I need to know what they say about me and, especially, who speaks about me. I need to know everyone's opinion, and especially I need to know about Albert Walker's brother, William. And also Jillian Valence, as from what I already know of her, she is given to instigate the people against their sovereigns. You will be compensated every time you pass information"

He bowed to her, "Your majesty has in me a faithful vassal"

"Good. I would like the poorest to have a maternal image of me. From today on, I will be like a mother to the needy!"

"May I make a suggestion?"

"Yes"

"Your husband could join you too. The people wouldn't feel orphan of a strong male regent as they see the king of Bohma as an inferior figure…"

Katarina made a thoughtful face. She didn't disagree with his point of view.

* * *

 **A few days later**

To measure her popularity with the people. In other attempts to conquer the Edonians, the empress opened the castle gates for an afternoon of playtime with the children and give free beer for the adults.

While the plebe had their fun and were watched by other guards, Katarina walked to a garden where she spotted a unique couple and listened to part of the discussion between Jillian and Leonard.

Leonard poked Jillian as soon he noticed Katarina watching them.

"Is this how you talk about someone who is here only to help the people?" Katarina said walking slowly towards them.

Leonard bowed to her.

"Your Highness…" Jillian greeted her

"Your majesty!" she corrected the blue-eyed woman

Jillian gave a shrug, "You are wasting your time fooling those people like that. Soon they'll stop buying your lies. You're not their queen."

"Not a queen. An empress!"

"Whatever" Jillian rolled her eyes, "You can sit on the throne, wear a crown, but you will never, in fact, be the queen of these people."

"Jill…" Leonard tried to intervene

Katarina gestured to him, "It is alright Leonard. You do not need to defend me on that" she spoke calmly and turned to the blue-eyed duchess, "You are a petulant woman Jillian. I admire that, but it is also your disgrace"

"What? Will you send me to prison?"

Katarina smiled with mischief, "No"

"Kill me?"

"Your death is not necessary."

Jillian remained staring the imposing woman

"You are an ignorant. You envy me and you are jealous that you are all alone"

"Excuse me?"

"I took your men from you. I married Christopher, Leonard married another woman, and I told you so! Now you serve as his mistress and he serves me in whenever I want! You crushed both and you got none!" she spoke with a mocking tone

Jillian couldn't disguise her hatred. She despised that woman since they were young.

Many years ago, Katarina, Christopher and Leonard lived in Arthena. Jillian's father served as a diplomat between Edonia and Bohma, and often, the blue-eyed woman crossed the boarders to stay in Arthena where she met the three of them. And Pierce.

Christopher was an adventurous boy. Leonard a flirty one. She admired Christopher's "wild" nature. Since that young age, Christopher demonstrated to be fearless and so did Leonard. Seeing that Leonard didn't hide his wings towards Katarina and she didn't reject him as he had told her they had kissed, despite Katarina's evident wings towards Christopher who always seemed to dodge her.

Jillian thought she had a chance with Christopher, but the brave boy was also a shy one. And somewhat clumsy with female advances. She thought that about him until the day Katarina told her about the girl in the barn.

She knew the girl from the barn, she was a plebeian. Christopher seemed to like plebeians more than the noble girls. She was a quiet girl, daughter of peasants and Christopher's first love. Or first crush. Christopher was the opposite of Leonard when women were the subject, but she was surprised to know the level of intimacy he and the girl from the barn had. Probably they would've had married if the girl have gotten sick and died. She still remembered how affected he was when he learned about his girlfriend's death. He felt bad he couldn't help her or give her any assistance as he had to separate from her to return to Bohma's court. Abigail was her name.

At some point during all that, Leonard turned had his wings back at her again. With Christopher away and still having feelings for Leonard, she decided to give him a chance. They seemed to work. They were not in a hurry. The beginning was a bit difficult because of Leonard's flirty trait, which always got her jealous of any woman approaching him. Until she realized he did it just for the fun. As they matured, he seemed more refrained in his flirting, probably because their relationship had matured as well as they took it to the other level of intimacy. They talked about marriage and children. He dreamed of having a family. They postponed their wedding several times due to the adversities of belonging to different locations. She belonged to Edonia. He belonged to Arthena. Their families were against their union and in a decision to keep them separated; her family arranged her marriage to an Edonian. The marriage was short; it lasted about two years. He died in a battle in the sea. They had one daughter.

As a widower, Jillian was allowed to marry again. She and Leon reconciled and thought that this time they could finally stay together, however things didn't go that way.

Leonard's father had fallen sick and as his last wish, he arranged Leonard's marriage to a Bohman girl. Once again, they broke up and back to Edonia, Jillian lost contact with Leonard for some time

She heard the news that his father had died, but the marriage didn't happen, although Leonard did get married to a wealthy Arthenian noblewoman, Nicole.

And here they were all again. In her territory. Christopher and Katarina as the new regents under the power of King Charles of Bohma. Leonard as the head of strategies and Pierce as the second in command of Christopher in the military forces.

"You may have married Christopher by force, but you don't deserve him. He's too good for a woman like you…" Jillian replied coldly looking at Katarina from head to toes in a mocking way

"Take this woman out of here!" Katarina yelled upset

"I'll leave your presence with all the pleasure, your majesty!" Jillian spoke bitterly

* * *

 **Somewhere in the Castle of Edonia**

"Are you out of your mind? Talking to Katarina like that is reckless and stupid! She can order your death any moment!" Leonard lectured her

"I'm not afraid of her! I'd rather die instead of watching her poisoning everyone and everything to make them see her as a savior, as a goddess, when all she want is just the attention and turn the kingdoms into her playground!"

"You don't know that!"

Jillian gasped, "I don't know that? Leon, different of you, my brain doesn't stop working and is not affected in the presence of a beautiful woman… bitch in this case! I remember very well who Katarina O'Gregon is!"

"You're wrong about that... Charles entrusted Edonia to Christopher and not to her"

"Bullshit! Everyone knows Charles had always been fond of her! He even intended to marry her! That tragedy just didn't happen because of the brilliance of his late father in stopping her plans and marrying him to a true princess and a good woman! That man was wise enough to see the evil within her! Behind that smiley beauty, hides the evil! What she has of beauty is what she has of evilness!"

Leonard rolled his eyes in incredulity

"What difference does it make entrusting Christopher when he's married to Katarina? She played the strings so well, that she managed to marry Christopher, knowing he was a favorite to both Charles and his father and that he would continue been granted with promotions and ascensions in the kingdom! I admit that woman is wise! She's clever! She machinated it too well, seduced all of them, she uses Christopher to rise her position because the truth is that she never forgave the late king for taking her chance to be a queen! Katarina is a vain woman, her ego doesn't have limits. Losing her chance to be a queen, enraged her! Affected her pride! Her fight for the women's freedom and social liberation is fraudulent! It's just her excuse to fool the people so she can get their trust and admiration. She's a cold, selfish and calculating person. She only cares about herself!"

"I agree when you say she's vain and proud, and she's somewhat selfish, but saying she uses Christopher doesn't make any sense! According to my affected memory, Katarina always crushed Christopher…way before all the ascension thing. She loves Christopher and always did! She's from the most important family of Bohma, their influence is beyond history. Charles wasn't the only available prince at that time. There are other realms she could've had found a prince or even a king to marry! But no, she wanted Christopher, a boy that wasn't a plebeian but wasn't a nobleman either! He was below her level and she fought for their love"

"Her obsession…not love"

"Whatever Jill! Katarina might have loved more, but Christopher is not a victim either. And if you pay a better attention, Christopher loves her! He cares about her and he's even jealous of her with any other man next to her. Her insistency wasn't a null act. Christopher deep inside liked and corresponded to her attempts! And he does enjoy their ascension! He's not that naïve as you think"

Jillian let out a sigh. They'd never agree in that matter. And in fact, she didn't totally disagree with him, but in her opinion it was more due to him being a man who fell seduced by Katarina. Even as a woman, she bitterly admitted Katarina was beautiful.

"I know he's not naïve, but let's just end this topic. We won't go anywhere with that…"

"Yeah…"

The pair turned their heads to the same direction as they saw a woman staring them.

"I'll go home. Mother's duty calls me" Jillian spoke recognizing the woman, Leon's current wife.

The women greeted politely. Leonard greeted her with a faint smile.

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Afternoon**

"Nothing like a bath to take away the scent of those people who impregnated me. Well, at least my initiatives are having some effect. The plebs begin to see me with other eyes. With good eyes" she commented with Lucy as her maiden helped her undress

"Your majesty, I am sorry to ask, but isn't it serious that this same plebe is so dissatisfied with the king?" The maiden asked

"Charles has no way out. There is nothing to do… Sooner or later he will lose his power"

"And will you reign over Edonia and Bohma alone?" The maiden asked in curiosity

"No! For that, I would need to have their royal blood in the veins. Or in the womb. Which, in this case, can be solved as soon as I set the arrangement of Maddy, Philly and/or Lilly's marriage with relatives of Charles and they get pregnant with their children" Katarina revealed her plan

"So you still need Charles until that happens"

Katarina nodded in agreement, "See how fate can be ironic, Lucy: just when a new life is announced, the one who helped generate it will become unnecessary…" she spoke coldly as her maiden helped her with the bath

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **So, is Jillian right in her opinion on Katarina or is she overreacting?  
What about Angelique and Oliver? Wondering what they'll do next...**

 **Stay tuned!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **A/N: Thanks to Pin Potato for helping me decide the new introducing picture of Katarina :D  
**

 **Models used**

 **Katarina:** **Nurgül Yeşilçay (in **Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem)  
** Jillian: ****Hande Doğandemir (in** **Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem)** **  
Leonard: Kadir Doğulu (in** ** **Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem)  
** Olly: ginger boy on google  
**


	32. My Beautiful Woman

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

Early morning. Chris Redfield was having breakfast, watching the morning news.

" _The representative of the curator of the Museum of Arts of Bohma and a team of archeologists have announced the discovery of some missing paintings of the Treasure of Angely Reed, a famous painter that lived in the 17th and 18th centuries. They found the paintings in the ruins of the mausoleum in ruins of the land of Arthena that once belonged to Christopher Reed, an important military man and an influential figure of the 18th century of Bohma and Edonia._

 _It was believed that those paintings had been destroyed by Katarina O'Gregon, Christopher's second wife and former self-entitled empress of Edonia._

 _Christopher Reed had been married to both women._

 _Angely Reed, aka Angelique Stafford, and Christopher were victims of a conspiracy. A tragic love-story. The discovery of the old paintings told their story of how they met before the whole conspiracy to separate them, schemed by Katarina O'Gregon and Angelique's relatives._

 _The importance of that finding has no estimated value as it shows part of the history of Bohma as well._

 _The representative of Mr. Lionel said that finding that lost treasure had an immense importance to the country and to the O'Gregon-Reed-Stafford families surviving members. Those paintings tell how the three families were united and the impact of such union to the country's history._

 _The simplicity they lived before the whole tragedy that occurred when the dead returned to life somehow, in what nowadays we know as Bio-weapons…_ "

Chris stopped eating his toast with the news. He was shocked to recognize the location of the mausoleum, now in ruins, as the same he had seen in some of his dreams. He was even more shocked with the mention of the bio-weapons at such period of history.

He turned the television off and without finishing his breakfast; he drove to the B.S.A.A. Headquarters. In a rare day, he was late for work.

Distant in his thoughts he barely greeted the coworkers that passed by him. What were those crazy dreams that tormented him now? Were they really dreams or memories of previous lives according to some beliefs?

Nah, he was too rational to believe such things.

Well, he was too rational to believe dead people coming to life, until July of 1998!

He left the cabin of the elevator and walked the corridor that led to his office. On his way, as he turned one corner he bumped into a coworker thanks to his distraction.

"I'm sorry…" he spoke right away

"It's alright. Good morning for you too, Chris" the familiar female replied with a faint smile

"Kat…Kate!" he corrected the pronunciation, "I'm sorry. I was distracted…"

"It's okay… it happens…"

The young female passed him, without prolonging their short encounter. Unconsciously, his head turned to watch her. He laughed at himself for switching her name for the name of the stunning brunette-woman of his dreams.

.

.

.

 _The difference between a dream and reality is the dreamer believes what he is experiencing is real, but the man who is awake knows the world he lives in is real.  
At least he thinks he knows… until waking with the realization he was only dreaming and wondering if what is remembered of the dream was real.  
Time has no meaning in the world of dreams. There is no past and no future, only the present…_

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

 **Castle of Edonia, Royal Chambers**

Katarina was in her chambers with her legs wide open to a lady-in-waiting, "God was so mean for not keeping us bald down there!" the sovereign commented

"Your majesty, I'm sorry to interrupt" Lucy, Katarina's favorite lady-in-waiting spoke as she entered the chambers

"What do you want?"

"I just got a letter for you"

"From who?"

"I don't know. I didn't read."

"Read it for me. I am somewhat busy preparing myself to be my husband's birthday gift tomorrow…" she spoke with a naughty expression as she kept her legs wide open as another lady-in-waiting helped her with the hair removal

"I don't think you want me to read this loud…" the favorite said as she opened the paper

Katarina frowned, "Can this wait her finish me?"

Lucy gave a shrug, "Yes…"

Soon after, Katarina went bathing while Lucy sat on the bathtub border to read the letter.

"So, what is this letter about?"

"Vladimir"

Katarina frowned, "What does he want?"

"Money. He said it's about time for you to continue the payment for his silence. It's been a while you stopped sending him money and he needs more money to keep his clinic's expenses…"

"To hell he and the clinic! I will not give him a penny more!"

"He threatens to tell Christopher the truth"

"What truth? I myself confirmed Christopher that Maddy is not his daughter! End of conversation!"

Lucy made a face, "He's not only referring to Maddy"

"What do you mean?"

"He mentioned Angelique and Amelia's names"

"What?"

"Here what he says…"

Katarina looked at the paper with a disgusted expression, "May I remind you that you ordered Angelique's assassination so you could annul his marriage to her. you paid Amelia and I can prove the deal you two had. I wonder what Christopher would think if he learns the truth and the true character of his stunning wife…"

"He is bluffing! He cannot prove that!"

"What if he does?"

"He will not!"

"How can you be so sure?"

Katarina made a mischievous expression as she rested her back, "Dead people cannot be heard… now burn this letter!"

"Yes milady!"

* * *

The next day Katarina and her children got up early to begin the special day of Christopher. The children delivered him their personal gifts. Christopher was so proud to be a father. Proud for the family he had. Now in a good phase of peace, he loved every minute as a family man.

During the day, he spent it with his wife and children. Partying with close friends. Once again, they threw him a surprise party. They all drank, ate and sang. They danced. Everyone was happy.

While the guests partied and the children slept. Katarina called him to a more private chamber

Katarina lifted her cup of wine with a large smile, "Happy birthday my love!"

He followed her example smiling back, "Thank you, Kat! I'm so grateful for having you by my side… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!"

She smiled graciously, "True that. But I would not want to be here if there was not with you by my side! All my dreams were for you and with you, my love!"

"Thank you for being this incredible woman you are! I don't know what I did to deserve you…this…"

She smiled proudly, "We were always meant to be!"

Both drank the wine from their cups.

She came closer to him and whispered with a husky voice, "It is time to give you my gift…"

He smiled seductively as he became aware of a strong scent in the air. Then he noticed the red flowers standing beside the bed. The scent seemed to originate from those flowers. He also noticed a faint mist rising from the flowers.

"They are the Flowers of Passion. Inhaling their scent loosens your inhibitions and makes you more pliable to suggestions"

"Flowers of Passion to loosen my inhibitions… with you? Come one!" he said making a face of laughter

"Not with me…but with whoever wants to watch us…" she leaned against him, looked into his eyes and whispered seductively in his ear. Then she put her hand behind his head and pulled him close. Her lips touched his. Opening her lips, she pushed her tongue into his mouth.

He put his arms around her and kissed her hungrily, sucking on her tongue. Between his legs, his manhood had grown and his desire for his stunning wife could not be denied. He was beyond caution and self-control, and was oblivious to the open doors without even care if anyone would hear or watch them.

She broke the kiss and moved her lips down and across his chest. She purposely shed wine in his body, licking the liquid coring on his belly with her tongue and fondling his scrotum with gentle fingers. Taking the tip of his penis into her mouth, she ran her tongue around it, teasing him until he was ready to explode. Then she sucked him deep into her. He couldn't hold back any longer and exploded his pre-cum inside her soft mouth. She swallowed his jetting cream and licked him clean.

Looking at him with a sassy expression, she smiled and grazed his member with her sharp teeth, careful to not hurt him. He was still stiff and his desire still strong.

She lay back on the bed and straddled him. Her legs opened wide and he slid between her thighs. As she pressed her supple body against his, her hand snaked down his member and her long fingers encircled it. She smiled as she rubbed her genitalia over his swollen member. She was wet and slippery and when he found her opening, he slid into her with no ease.

She moaned into his ear as she welcomed his entry into her vessel and rotated her lower body in slow circles. A deep groan escaped his lips as she squeezed his swollen member with the soft walls of her folds.

He grabbed her moving buttocks and held her still while he pushed deep into her with every powerful thrust. Her cries of pleasure rang through the room and she raked his skin with her fingernails.

He watched her perfect naked body. She sank into his lap and took him back into her hot sheath of flesh. Lifting her arms above her head, she rode him with wild abandon. Her hips churned with ever increasing movements as she pumped her hot folds over his hard shaft. He reached up to take her breasts into his hands and dug his fingers into their soft tissue. The pleasure she created inside him was incredible. He couldn't get enough of her, even over a decade of marriage. Never had a woman given him such level of satisfaction and joy. He loved her sex. He loved her multiple orgasms.

He swam in a sea of happiness and time stood still, but there came the moment when he couldn't go on any longer. As waves of pleasure rushed through his body, he became aware of the strong scent from the _Flowers of Passion_. He shouted with joy and exploded inside Katarina's milking sheath, his hands squeezing her taut breasts.

She clamped down hard and sat quivering in his lap, her eyes large and her gaze locked with his. Her lips parted and her tongue darted between her white teeth. A soft hissing sound escaped her mouth as the enflamed walls of her tightening sex-organ sucked him dry.

Then she let out a sigh of contentment and collapsed on top of him. Her breasts flattened against his chest. He could feel the hard nipples as she lay on top of him, her breath coming in great gasps.

"You never disappoint," she said after a while. Then she laughed and wiggled her bottom, "You are still hard inside me, "Happy birthday mister virile!"

He grinned and put his hands around her undulating hips, "It must be the wine and those flowers"

"Yes, they would be of great assistance. But they are useless if the male does not have stamina…like you" she gasped and moved her buttocks up and down

Within moments, the fire in his loins burned hot and he put his arms around Katarina, turning her onto her back. Then he pumped between her clutching thighs with renewed vigor.

She moved her whole body with sinuous grace above him. Her deep channel an envelope of hot flesh around his pole. He grabbed her grinding hips and pulled her into his lap, pushing up against her. She let out a series of deep chirping noises and clamped down hard on his throbbing member, her walls sucking rhythmically. Her hot discharge ran down between her buttocks, signaling that she was experiencing her own orgasm – again.  
When she was finished, she lifted up and freed his still throbbing organ. Getting to her knees, she waited for him to kneel behind her and pushed up her rounded posterior. He put his hands around her chest to feel for her breasts.

He put himself between her spread thighs and searched for her entrance. She moaned and lifted up when his hard flesh touched her folds, grabbing him like a soft vice. Feeling his shaft entering her warm channel, he pushed forward and slid easily into her welcoming sex-organ.

Milking him softly, she rotated her buttocks while he knelt behind her, his hands on her hips. She moaned with a low, hissing sound, and after a while she jerked her hips frantically, panting and crying out groans.

She fell forward, making him slip out of her. With one fluid movement, she turned under him onto her back. Gasping, she clung to him and pulled him between her widespread thighs. Clutching his hips with her knees, she managed to sheath his stabbing manhood and took him back into her.

"Show no mercy" she almost screamed, "I need to feel pain!" her face was pulled into a savage, ferocious mask, but he found it beautiful; her wildness.

He felt like a primeval beast and fucked her with brutal strokes. She raked his back with long fingernails, and he knew that she drawing blood. He didn't feel any pain, only pleasure.

His rational mind was gone. He was like a wild animal, consumed by lust and possessed with an endurance that allowed him to go on forever.

Katarina displayed strength and ferocity matching his as she bucked underneath him, her lower body slamming against his with relentlessness.

He climaxed numerous times without losing fluid, and Katarina experienced multiple orgasms.

"It is time…" she cried out, clamping her legs around his neck, "Time for the final moment!"

He knew what she wanted and was ready. With a roar that echoed through the corridor, he crushed her slender body to him. His rampant moves stuck inside her clutching walls and his sperm spewed into her with explosive force. His lips found her throat. Opening his mouth, he sank his teeth into the tender meat of her neck.

He took a long time until he filled her vessel again and he cried out hoarsely when he felt his sperm shooting into her as she mixed her own climax with his shots.

(*)

Opening his eyes, he was lying in the bed. The sun illuminated the chamber through the windows. Sitting up, looking around, he didn't see Katarina anywhere. He rose to his feet, still naked and walked to the toilet chambers. Feeling a dull pain all over his body, most of it concentrated on his back, he noticed the crushed blood on his arms and his upper torso. He grimaced as memory flooded back. Still feeling Katarina's nails raking his back, he could only imagine what his back must look like.

He did his morning hygiene and returned to the bedchambers to dress. He looked through the window and saw Katarina playing with their children in the garden. He smiled at the scene.

He put on his clothes and climbed down the stairs to join his family.

He sat down in the grass, enjoying the peace, the morning breeze and the sounds of his happy children in that piece of paradise. Maddy was painting. Katarina was teaching Lilly to make floral arrangements. Phil and Beau were playing together.

"Your majesty" a messenger called Christopher

"Yes"

"A letter for you"

Katarina disguised her apprehension and watched discreetly Christopher's demeanor. She wondered what message Christopher received, and prayed it wasn't any sick game from Vladimir. Although, patience was a virtue of the brunette and she waited the right time to investigate the content of the letter.

The woman sat by her husband's side.

"Is everything alright?" she asked calmly

"Yeah…"

"It does not seem that way"

He turned his face to her

"I know you long enough to read your face signs"

He inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, "I just wanted this peace to ling on…but there always comes the rain…"

"What happened to ruin your peace?"

"The message…"

"What message?"

"Charles."

"What about him?"

"His health's delicate condition has turned into a big concern to Bohma and not having surviving offspring has become a preoccupation for his succession"

"I see…" Katarina replied thoughtful

"Charles has requested my immediate return to Bohma. I'll trust Edonia to you, just like we did in Baveen and Arthena"

She smiled tenderly, "You know you do not have to worry about me. I will keep the order and will be patiently waiting for your return home" she kissed him

Christopher said goodbye to his children and instructed Pierce to give support to Katarina and then he headed to the carriage.

Katarina asked Lucy to get in contact with Nicholas.

* * *

 **Secret Garden, Castle of Edonia**

"Do you have any news for me?" Katarina asked the man standing before her

"Yes. I've got the updates you ordered"

"So tell me. Are the people better accepting me as their regent?"

"There are still divided opinions, but many begin to see your majesty as a kind woman, in solidarity with the suffering of the people, especially women. People in general feel safer with Christopher's presence as they heard of his achievements and legacy in confronts. And some are already even blaming the invasion and past disagreements on the kings of Bohma and Edonia alone" Nicholas said

"Great! The less my name and Christopher's are related to the invasion, the better"

"Anything else I could do for you?"

"Yes. I need you to send a message to a man, Albert Walker, a scientist that lives in Baveen. Tell him that soon I will take a trip to there. He will know the subject. And tell his brother to come to my meet."

"Yes your majesty. Consider it done!" he bowed to her as he left

* * *

 **A Few Days Later**

"What can I do for your majesty?"

"Your brother commented about an experiment that has demonstrated some advancement and a significant success with small animals. What is exactly this experiment about?"

"Why should I share that information with you?"

"Because I am the empress of Edonia and I shall know whatever happens in my territory"

"I'm still not convinced that I should give you such information"

Katarina smiled in mischief, "You still did not understand. You and your brother seem to have some communication problem. Let me clear this to you. Your research is financed by me! If it were not for my kind contribution and generous compensation for your brother's loyalty, none of you would have funds to play the scientists. You would not purchase the toys you use. You would not afford the expeditions to the mine in Baveen and the current situation of Bohma with Charles' sickness, you shall be prepared to reduction of expenses and a terrible economic crisis in the history of Bohma. I will not allow Edonia to break, but…Baveen belongs to Bohma! I thought Albert had told you that I tend to compensate my allies very well! And my enemies do not tell histories and with my influence I could accuse you of treason against Bohma. So what do you say?" she spoke with a cold demeanor

The man let out a long sigh. Still reluctant and feeling cornered, "There's a part in the depths of the mine that lies a special parasite. Our research has demonstrated that those parasites can be used to control other beings, as they become their hosts… My brother commented with me about your plans to unite the kingdoms into one and for that you'd need to have a royal blood…which you don't…unless all the royal members were killed, your majesty would have the chance to stick with your plan… however, if your majesty really stick to the deal we could make, my brother and I could provide you the other option… the parasite will avoid all sorts of rebellions and the people of both kingdoms or any others will have only one master. Now I ask you, what is your priority? Edonia and Bohma, or… the world? Do we have a deal now?"

She smiled with mischief, "I need more details before giving you a proper answer. I need to know how that parasite works. The pros and cons…"

"Absolutely."

(*)

Pierce was making the rounds around the castle when he listened to voices coming from the secret garden corridors. He recognized Katarina's voice. He remained hidden and tried to listen to the conversation, but he couldn't really understand what Katarina and the mysterious man were talking about.

He hid behind a pillar as Katarina and the man that happened to be Albert's brother, William, parted ways without taking notice of his presence.

Pierce Northman wondered what kind of business Katarina and that man had.

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

"Sorry to interrupt. This order has just arrived" Katerina spoke as she walked in Pierce's office

"Thank you" the young soldier replied politely

"Hello Chris" she greeted the captain who was sitting on the chair in front Pierce's desk, with a soft smile

"Hello Kate" he greeted her back politely

"Excuse me" she said turning around to leave the room

Pierce watched her cat walk. Despite wearing a uniform, she wore it in a sexy way. The skirt, tight to her body designed her ass perfectly. Her toned legs and high heels, and her long brown hair to the level of her waist. The scent of her perfume in the air just made her even sexier. Katerina was indeed a very beautiful young woman, still in her early twenties, and she knew it. She also abused of it in her own favor. She was gracious and feminine, but with a spicy gaze in her hazel eyes, nearly green. Anyone could tell her favorite colors were black and red. And that day, she was wearing her red uniform. She was in for attention.

And she got his. Even Chris' for a brief moment. He also couldn't help to look at her back from head to toe as she walked like a super model, in the catwalk of that small room.

And to instigate more, she made sure to smile at them before closing the door.

Chris managed to disguise that he had looked at her round and shaking ass as she walked, but Piers… He was hypnotized. Of course, he should be. He was young and full of testosterone and Katerina made sure to tease him with her cleavage as she placed the box on his desk.

Her moves were calculated. Never exaggerated. She knew the moments to grab men's attention. Or anyone's.

Chris and Pierce were just men… yet, Chris was older and knew to play that game for a longer time and was capable to keep his fire under control when was necessary.

Chris cleared his throat. The sound made Piers return to Earth.

The young soldier noticed Chris was holding a cup under his chin.

Piers made a face, "Why's that?" he asked

"You're drooling"

"Nahh!" Piers mumbled slightly annoyed

Chris laughed.

Laugh. That was something he didn't do that often. He carried his life in a heavy way, or maybe the heavy life carried him since 1998.

Now a man of many responsibilities seemed to enjoy things less. At least, that's how people used to see him. Half of truth. Losing his parents at a young age made him mature early for some aspects of life. That maturation made him look a bit grumpy. Maybe he was in some aspects. He didn't do it for being in bad mood. It was just his nature. Since he was a boy, he tended to be a bit more serious than the other boys at his age. He always took life seriously, and some subjects made him even more serious.

He wasn't bubbly like Kate.

But he did laugh. He just wasn't easily amused. And Piers made him laugh and remind himself when younger. He did have a phase for drooling for girls.

Cathy made him laugh too.

"Come on, did u see what I saw?"

Chris shrugged, "That depends on what it was supposed to be seen… If you mean Kate, yeah I saw she was here. I'm not blind!"

"I know you have a girlfriend now and I promise I won't tell Cathy that… but, don't you agree that Kate is hot? She's thin but she's not flat. She's got all those curves in the right place. She's got the attitude and dang, she smells so good!"

Chris cleared his throat. Don't remind him of her smell. He had a hard time explaining his girlfriend that all was he did was helping Kate with a piggyback to her apartment because of her injury.

"If you say so…"

"Come on! Wouldn't you do Kate if you were single?"

Chris laughed, "No"

Would he? Katerina somehow reminded him of Jessica Sherawat. The difference was that Katerina didn't hit on him like Jessica did. But both women shared the seductive trait. And hopefully they didn't share the betrayal trait as well.

"I doubt it. You looked at her ass. I saw it!"

"Not my fault. Her ass was in my eye level"

Piers laughed. Chris tried not to, but he couldn't help it. He laughed too, briefly.

"I don't know how long I can take this. More and more she's playing it tougher!"

"What about Sophie?"

"We broke up. I couldn't take her jealousy anymore"

"Justified jealousy. You can't even disguise it anymore"

"Because I'm single now!"

"Not my friend! I'm watching this since it started! I didn't forget the kiss…"

"Sophie doesn't even know about it"

"Look, I understand how you feel towards Kate. I've had that phase too when all the girl needed was to say yes…But I tell you from experience. Women like Kate can mean trouble too. She has a free spirit and you know you're not the only men drooling for her and she enjoying it… she may give you divine minutes of pleasure, but what comes next?"

"I have a free spirit too"

Chris made a face that he didn't agree that much, "That bird has also a big ego. She loves the stage… the divine minutes may not be worth it if you're not ready to what comes next…"

"Dang, what black widow did get you that bitter?"

"No black widow, but I'm in this life long before you and I've met and seen people like Kate…Yet…there's a chance I might be wrong about her"

Piers made a face, "You speak like my father…"

Chris smiled, "I'm not your father, but I'm your mentor. You have a long future in the B.S.A.A.; don't ruin it just because of a beautiful girl"

"I understand what you're saying… but let me say it and no offense… the way you speak. The way you act…the problem doesn't seem to be people like Kate, but Kate is the problem. Is there a history or something?"

Chris laughed, "Piers… look what you're saying. No past here!"

"I'm sorry Chris. You're right. I appreciate your concern and advises. I'll keep it in mind if I ever have troubled involvement with Kate"

 **Weeks Later, Piers' Apartment**

"Wow!" Piers exhaled as he rolled over to his side of the bed with his belly up as he caught his breathe. All sweated.

Kate nestled in his arm, smiling from ear to ear. Thrilled.

They needed that! A good time and relaxation.

Piers: spent too much time working.  
Kate: sexually unsatisfied with Douglas.

"That was amazing!" she spoke delighted

"Yeah…"

"We should do that again"

"Sure. Just give me 5 minutes…"

She laughed, "And then again, and again, and…" she leaned over him, "Again…" she kissed him

"And then we do it all over again…" He kissed her passionately

She mounted him kissing back. In flames, their bodies united again. Then again…

They didn't want their first date to end.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**


	33. Corruption

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

 _Christopher Reed was not the man to despair of anything, much less the sort who expected a divine solution to his problems. Perhaps because many years ago he had come to the conclusion that he had been abandoned by God, or because experience had taught him that every minute he stopped was one less of life when he was faced with an army of rabid and heavily armed soldiers, especially when some of the soldiers in question were on horseback and he was not._

 _Several escape routes had passed through his head, more for safety than for any desire to escape – again -, because if there was one thing everyone knew about him was that he never ran away from a good fight since his return to the court. Even when the opponent had a twenty to one advantage. And then everyone knew that the harder the battle, the better the reward, at least that was what he and many others thought of it. For this reason, he regarded with calm and naturalness the desertion of the leader of the troop.  
He finished loading his fire gun and positioned himself to aim at the head of a soldier who was in front of the others._

 _"Hold the position!"_

 _He noticed from the corner of his eye a strange movement at his side._

 _"Firm!" He shouted once more for the troop to hear him_

 _As he turned his eyes forward and saw the army of soldiers even closer, he was sure that before he gave the order to shoot, many other soldiers would follow the example of the old knight of another province and run to hide in some hole in the ruins behind them. He knew exactly who would be the first to do it. He did not have to wait long to see a fire gun fly and see a soldier running off in the direction the old knight had taken, so at least ten other men were chasing after him. But there was no time to pay attention to the cowards, especially since the rabid soldiers had chosen that moment to start firing._

 _"Fire!" He still managed to scream before throwing himself to the ground to deflect an almost accurate shot_

 _Shots and daggers flew in all directions. Those who had previously remained in position were now running to save their lives. The moment of "every man for himself" had arrived in record time. The blood and the bodies of the front men stained the earth. The angry soldiers passed through them as devastating and ruthless as a cloud of locusts destroying a plantation. If Christopher thought that God was not with him, he had every reason to be sure that Devil was with the bloody foes.  
_ _He threw the rifle that was accompanied by a detachable_ _bayonet in the chest of a soldier_ _, but as he imagined, he did not get the reaction he wanted since the strange soldier seemed to feel no pain or to be immobilized by wounds._

 _"Shit!" He drew a flintlock and shot the same immortal soldier as he tried to run backwards_

 _He had not gone very far, trying to reload the gun, when he tripped over a body. The fall caused the weapon to fly from his hands. He looked around expecting to see some enemy ready to kill him. Christopher Reed would never be accused of lying down and waiting for death._

 _At that moment, Christopher heard a low, high-pitched sound, like a groan. He turned quickly and saw a dead man feeding on another dead body._

 _"What the fuck?"_

 _He jumped up and ran as fast as he could in the direction of a large statue. He knew he was being pursued, he could feel the ground tremble with the rush of angry soldiers and heard the ominous sound of the tongues of the enemies snarling like a macabre salute to death._

 _When he finally reached the statue, he was weak. He threw his body against the stones of the image in the vain hope of making a secret passage appear, or who knows, the ground opening and swallowing the enemies. But the only thing that happened was to be surrounded by twenty creatures under the sight of rifles with bayonets and scythes. He decided to use the last seconds of life to exchange a few words with the Lord. The moment he closed his eyes he heard the sound of the rifles being cocked, knowing he would not have much time, he chose to make a request, "Sorry to bother the Lord, I know you must be very busy since you obviously are not here. I know, and the Lord knows too, that I do not believe you exist, but if you're feeling willing to prove otherwise the moment is this ... I think it's just ... hum ... Amen"_

 _He heard a distant ringing of bells._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _To be continued_

(*)

Chris woke up in panic. Sweating. Another crazy dream. A dream? It felt so real! His body felt numb and painful at the same time as if he had been on field. That dream's field.  
The room half-lit by the light coming in through the half-open curtains.

"Chris?"

Chris turned his face to the open door of his bedroom to see Eliza standing looking at him

"Liz…"

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern

"Yeah…"

"Would you like some water?"

He nodded in acceptance as he sat, still disoriented. He checked the alarm clock. 9:30AM. He wasn't used waking up so "late". Not even in his off days.

It didn't take long for Eliza return with a glass of water.

"Bad dream?"

He nodded

"What was it about?"

"I was in the battlefield… but the place was so rustic. The weaponry… I had no idea how to battle those people that acted like a zombie-sort-of or maybe a Ganado…" as he explained, Eliza made a face that she didn't know what he meant with the technical terms, "Creatures I usually meet at my current work…"

"Well, it's your usual routine. Probably just memories of your own work…"

"Yeah, I agree… But I felt cornered. Without options… like I said, it was a rustic scenario. No proper handguns, rifles, or submachine guns… like those old fire weapons in the 16-18's centuries. In the dream, I had never faced such creatures and I felt so limited that all I could do was run"

"Maybe you need a vacation"

He grinned, "Vacation?"

"Yes, everybody need a vacation. Including you!"

"I do take some time off! It's not like I work nonstop!"

"Really? When was the last time you went on a trip or took over 10 days off? I'm here for a quite a while and since the time my mother worked for you, I don't remember her telling me you were in a vacation trip"

He laughed, "I guess you're right. Cath and Zack would enjoy some quality time in family"

She smiled back, "Yes. That's a great idea. You deserve it and if you allow me to say this, but I can see the change in you since she came to your life"

"Is that visible?"

"Yeah!"

"We had an instant chemistry."

"Love at first sight?"

"I don't know if I call it love… I believe love comes with time and dedication, but passion or attraction does happen at first sight"

"So you fell in love with her at first sight?"

He grinned, "Yeah, I did… I tried to keep the distance and fought the urge to ask her out, but it was inevitable…"

"And now you're about to move in together and become a family… maybe you'll have your own children!"

He giggled, "Children…" he let out a sigh, "Something I never really dreamed of…I don't think it suits me"

"I beg to disagree. From all I've witnessed, you're a good stepfather."

He laughed, "My sister says I'm bossy"

"Maybe you were when younger, but I don't see you bossy now. You're more mature and protective like a family man. You'd be a great father"

He cleared his throat, "I'm fine in just being a stepfather! But I appreciate your honesty and seeing something I don't"

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

 **Castle of Bohma, Royal Bedchambers**

"Christopher…"

"Charles"

"Thank you for coming so quickly"

"I came as soon I received your message"

The sovereign nodded grateful, "You always proving you're worth my full trust…and worth a kingdom…"

"What can I do for your majesty?"

The man pointed to the bedside table, "That paper…take it, read and then sign" he spoke in between sobs

Christopher's heart raced, his hands shaking. He re-read it a few times. He could not believe it.

"You know I don't have surviving offspring and the remaining relatives of my family are not that trustable…"

"But your majesty…"

"The Privy Council approved this law as I managed to convince them it was for the best of Bohma and now Edonia…"

Christopher was speechless. Motionless.

"We can make a test, as I have no condition to rule my kingdoms and as soon my near end comes, you shall be proclaimed the new head of the state and king of Bohma-Edonia and Pierce the head of government"

"Your majesty… I…"

"You deserve it, Christopher. It's all your merit. Bohma's infantry have never been so strong and the prosperity of Baveen and Arthena in your administration proved that Bohma-Edonia will be the most powerful and the best country of Europe… all you have to do is to sign to validate you as the future sovereign…"

"Charles… I…"

"Christopher. It's an order and my last wish!" the man spoke firm

Christopher let out a sigh and bowed the man.

* * *

As soon Christopher left the king's chambers, he went to visit Elizabeth. He liked her advises and he did feel like venting with someone. He told her the news and she was surprised but excited. She knew her sister would be thrilled when she learned the news, after all, she had fought hard for her recognition.

"I know you want to go back to Edonia, but I'd like to ask you a favor."

"Say it"

"Could you go with me to the convent to help me with the delivery of this donation?"

"Where is it?"

"It's the only one here in the area. In Green Hills Province... it's fast! Just give to make the delivery and then we'll leave"

"Why do not you send through a messenger?"

"Because I want to make sure the money will be delivered. It already happened that it was not ... Oh and at this time of year they have a cool festival to raise more money."

"Alright..." he spoke defeated

* * *

 **Convent of Bohma**

"Good morning Mother." Elizabeth greeted the mother who welcomed them.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. Glad to see you back. "

The blonde smiled, "This is my brother-in-law, Christopher Reed, the sovereign of..."

Christopher shook his head for the blonde to stop introducing him "Here I am just a man without titles"

"Christopher Reed..." the mother repeated, whispering, "Of course your majesty..." the mother disguised her astonishment, "How can I help you?"

"I came to make my donation. I had some problems and I was late. I beg your forgiveness."

"Oh darling, it's okay. I understand" the mother turned to the man," And what about your majesty? What did bring you to our simple convent?" she asked politely

"Since I'm here. I'll make a donation too. And please, don't treat me like majesty. I'm just an ordinary man here"

"I beg your pardon. It's the power of habit. Let's go to my office to complete the donation process."

As they walked into the small chamber beside the chapel, Elizabeth broke the silence while Christopher looked around.

"Excuse me, but I'd like to ask... what happened to the other mother?"

The woman was somewhat reluctant, but she did not escape the reply, "A scandal!"

"A scandal?" the blonde replied

"Yes. Of corruption... But all evil comes to a good... and gradually we recover"

"What happened?" Christopher asked.

Unable to separate Christopher from the image of sovereign, the mother was forced to tell the story, after all, he was an authority and deserved honesty. But before the mother could begin to tell the story, she noticed that Christopher was distracted by one of the portraits on the wall.

"What about this painting? Did you receive as a donation? "He asked as he noted the name Angely Reed

The mother exhaled a long sigh. Had the fate given an unexpected turn by bringing that man to this place? Was he the same man, the same Christopher Reed whom she had heard the name several times many years ago?

"No donation... But the story behind the novice who designed it many years ago is closely linked to the corruption scandal..."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

The mother closed the door for privacy and sat down at the desk.

"Sit down, please. It's a long story..."

"You don't have to tell us mother..." Elizabeth said

"But he wants to know... I can see the crave in his eyes for the truth and the disturbance in his spirit..."

Elizabeth looked to the side and noticed the silent consent of her brother-in-law. The mystery of Angely Reed that always tormented him. It was no different from when he had asked her if she knew Maddy's art teacher, the court's current official painter. Divided into his present obligations, Christopher still had a past, a part of his past that still corrupted him. Elizabeth had no doubt that Christopher had learned to love her sister after so many years together, but she had realized that in the absence of his wife his corruption used to become visible at times. In moments like this.

And she would be witnessing the unveiling of that mystery.

He looked at the painting again. The painting of a lake... the lake he had never forgotten. The most beautiful and happy phase of his youth. When there was still some purity and hope left in a better tomorrow. In a sweet and warm tomorrow. A tomorrow by the side of the young redhead he had loved. The shy girl with a light smile and a delicate soul. The young painter who had invaded his soul in the softest velvet. The girl he loved the most pure and subtle love, quite angelic. Angelical like her name, Angelique.

"You know who painted, do not you?" The mother's distant voice brought him back to reality.

He sighed, "I don't know if it's the same person..."

"But your heart knows. Your spirit recognizes... as it happened to me when for a second I had the doubt that you are not the same Christopher Reed whom I have heard so much about... but my intuition had no doubts... "

He turned to her.

The vortex of time seemed to embrace them. The wheel of time began to spin.

"I only met an Angely Reed. Angelique..."

"Angelique Reed Stafford. The young redhead painter" the mother completed as if reading his thoughts

"Yes. My first wife"

"She told me her story... we were friends at the time she lived here. The only friend she had."

"She was shy to social interactions..."

"Yes, and she was also very injured."

"Injured?"

"Yes. Her father and stepmother had beaten her when they found her after running away with her husband... as he had not returned to save her from punishment."

"I was found by the royal guards, but I sent a doctor to help her, because she was sick"

"Sick?"

"Yes. She was feeling sick for a few days, which delayed us to go to a more distant place to start over and not be found by her family"

The mother swallowed. He had realized that Christopher did not know the truth, and now doubts tormented him. Should she tell him about Angelique's condition?

"Through the doctor, I asked her to meet me at court, but..." he looked down

The mother had felt a sorrow in her chest as she saw the sad face of the man before her, and she seemed finally to know the sad end of her friend, when even after so many years since the escape, there was still a hope that Angelique had managed to reach her destination. To find her beloved husband and father of the child she carried in her womb.

"She didn't go to court..." the woman said with a sad tone

He nodded in confirmation

She sighed heavily, "We had a similar story of abandonment by the family, just because we gave ourselves to the love of our lives... and that love has multiplied."

Christopher looked at her, "Has it multiplied?"

She nodded, "Yes...at that time, the novices who arrived pregnant were not allowed to stay with their children. The children were put up for adoption. Angelique discovered that she was pregnant sometime after arriving at the convent... I do not know how she survived the wounds and the horrible bruises all over her body, nor how she had not lost the child... something that had not happened to me. I lost my child and my freedom, the love of my life... then seeing that innocent girl and her pure heart, so stunned and destroyed inside and out it hurt in my soul! The others fulfilled the order of the old mother in not give support to her, to keep her isolated because she was a great sinner. We did not know the real reason, only many years later we finally learned the truth. The old mother had received a large payment from her family to have even have her eliminated..."

"What?" Christopher frowned

"That's what you heard. The family had ordered her death when they were informed of her pregnancy"

Disgusted, Christopher squeezed his hands

"And would the Mother really kill her?" Elizabeth asked, feeling emotional

The mother shrugged, "Not directly, but her actions meant that she did, but Angelique was very strong. The hope of finding Christopher and the child she carried in her womb changed her. She knew that if she stayed here, she would lose the child, but she was firm and would not give the child at all. I realized that she was different and I knew that she would be able to escape from this prison. Because at the time, it was how we felt. Fangs! So I helped her in the best I could without anyone noticing. She waited for her body to recover stronger and observed the convent routine. The day she ran away, I covered her up. I pretended that I knew nothing and prayed that she would find her happiness. I managed to mislead the others so that it would give her time to flee through the forest. She was on foot and full of guts, and then a strange, sudden mist clouded the search for her. I understood as if it was God helping and interceding for her. As they did not believe she could survive because of her condition, the searches were closed..." she looked down holding her tears," And until today I wanted to believe that she had managed to find you... but when you said that she was the first wife, I soon felt a pain in the chest and now you confirmed she never got to court..." she broke into tears

Christopher was stunned by the revelations. Apparently, Angelique had borne his son. All this time he had never stopped to think that, her illness could be pregnancy, even after witnessing so many pregnancies of Katarina. How could he let such detail go unnoticed? But if Angelique had managed to escape from the convent but had never made it to court, there must be some reason. Even more because he had suspicions of the current court painter. Then another thought crossed his mind, Angelique was pregnant with another man's child!

"George..." he gritted his teeth.

"What?" Asked the mother.

"Has Angelique ever mentioned someone named George?"

"No. Never. She only talked about you. Christopher"

It could be a lie, after all, they were close friends. But it did not cost anything to ask, he thought.

"So she said that the son was Christopher's?" Elizabeth asked in curiosity

"Yes. The only man she had ever allowed to touch her was her husband. Why? Do you doubt the son was not yours?" the Mother turned to Christopher who remained silent, "Why the distrust? She only spoke well of you. You were the reason for her to endure the hell she lived. You were her strength. Your love was the reason for her existence. Why do you doubt?"

"I have my reasons..." he said grimly.

"You have? Or have you never really loved her?" the woman in the mother spoke

"I don't owe you this explanation."

"Of course not. But it is visible that there is something in you that torments you. Is this doubt about your son's paternity, or the weight of his conscience that you left her?"

"I didn't leave her!"

"It doesn't seem."

"It doesn't seem?"

"No. As you had the freedom to look for her and find her, but you did no. She was left in her own luck"

"You don't know what you're saying and you cannot judge me! You are a nun and should avoid judging people"

"It's true and for this I beg your pardon. But before I'm a nun, I'm a person. A human. I'm not perfect, but I admit that I have made my judgment wrong on you based on what my friend was saying about how wonderful you were, how good you were, that you loved her etc, but you did not even know she was pregnant..."

"I went after her! Her family told me she was dead! It was the worst day of my life! You do not know the pain I have carried all these years, the emptiness that Angelique's ghost haunted me! Everything brings me to Angelique! All! And that does not allow me to be happy with my wife and mother of my children! A good wife who is not perfect, but someone who never left me!"

"Angelique never left you"

"Yes she did! She's still alive and she's running away from me! Her son's father is a guy called George. And this guy, George Talbot, is her husband! Just like me, she deceived you, mother! I also thought she was honest, transparent, delicate, innocent..."

"Calm down Christopher..." Elizabeth touched his forearm

"Did she tell you that?" The mother asked stupefied

"No, but I saw it! Everyone on the court knows it! I know her son, Oliver. He's even my daughter's best friend…"

The mother frowned. Her intuition told her something was not right. It did not make sense what that man was talking about. Angelique was good and innocent. She would not have lied to everyone after all she did when she had arrived at the convent. She could not believe the man's angry words. It even seemed that he was jealous of the many mocking way by mentioning George's name.

"We'd better go..." Elizabeth commented uncomfortably with heavy atmosphere

Christopher sighed deeply and agreed with his sister-in-law. Once again, he apologized to the mother.

It seemed that Angelique, the angel who was once the reason of fluctuations and good feelings, was now the reason of torments and frustration.

Had his beautiful love have been corrupted?

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

Annoyed, Christopher walked with heavy steps to his chambers. Maybe he shouldn't have gone to the convent. The conquered peace was disrupted. He was out of himself. He had discussed with a nun and didn't exchange a word with his sister-in-law in their way back to the castle.

The thoughts of Angelique always perturbed him.

He felt betrayed.

He believed a lie.

He loved an illusion.

Blame the youth.

He enters the chambers, grabbed the whiskey bottle and headed to the balcony to refresh his mind. His view was to a large garden that had a bush labyrinth where children could play.

1,2,3 sips directly in the bottle. 4,5,6 and then half the bottle was emptied. He didn't care if his stomach was going to hurt. His heart was already hurt. One more pain wouldn't make a difference.

Emptied the bottle.

He took another one.

1,2,3…the alcohol making its effect. His vision turning blurry.

It was afternoon. A cloudy afternoon.

Christopher was so entertained in his own misery that he didn't notice someone had entered his chambers.

Countless sips. The alcohol showing him a ghost down at the garden. Looking up.

The ghost wearing a white long dress. Like all ghosts, right?

The ghost was paralyzed. The long braded fire hair in contrast with the green of the grass around.

"Angelique… leave me alone… give me peace… I need it back… go back to your tomb and let me live…" he whispered in between sips.

He felt someone taking his grip. The ghost was still there, watching.

He turned to the side to see who there was. The woman smiled. He still kept the serious demeanor.

The ghost was watching. The ghost that had betrayed him. made a fool of him. had taken his illusion, his sweet dreams.

He wanted the ghost to go away.

He wanted her to feel the pain of betrayal like he did. Like she made him feel.

Without much reluctance, the woman leaned closer and kissed him.

He felt worse than he had imagined.

The kiss was kind, but not electrifying. He was used to better kisses.

He felt horrible. In order to hurt the ghost, he was hurtying everyone else. He was betraying his wife Katarina. The woman that brought him so high in every sector of his life. The woman that had never cheated on him with another man even having all the reasons to do it so. Katarina wasn't perfect, she did lie about Madeline, but in the end, it wasn't that bad of a lie now. He loved Maddy.

Oh damn, he was hurting his children! His once dreamed family – although he dreamt of a family with Angelique. Yet, he did have a family now. He loved them. He was a proud father. A proud husband.

Why did he have to screw it all up with Cathlyn? They didn't belong to each other. He was going to hurt her too… for allowing her to kiss him to scare the ghost away.

He felt the worst of men and broke the kiss. Broke the chain of betrayals.

The ghost was gone.

Was that a ghost, right?

"What the hell are you doing?" he spoke leaving her side hurriedly.

"I…" she couldn't say a word as she followed him

"Don't ever do that again!" he shouted reaching the corridors. The echo of his voice spreading through the hallways

"I love you Christopher!"

"Don't ever say that!"

"But it's the truth!"

"A truth I don't want! I love my wife!"

"Yes, Angelique!"

"Shut up! That woman is dead! My only wife is Katarina Reed O'Gregon! The mother of my children, my life partner and your majesty! You shall respect her! She doesn't deserve this and I'm strictly committed to her!" he yelled

"You don't love her…"

"I do love her!" he yelled out, "And from today on, you are forbidden to come near me or my family. You owe respect and obedience to us; otherwise, I'll expel you from court!"

* * *

Angelique couldn't stop shaking. Her body was finally capable to move after being seen by Christopher from the balcony. She thought he had already left the castle.

No he didn't! He stayed…

He stayed to fall in the arms of that woman! His lover. The rumors were true about them. They did have an affair.

The eternal seconds looking at each other twinkled something in her. So she ran back inside the castle. Away from his vision as he delighted himself with Lady Cathlyn.

How could he?

She smirked at herself.

"Don't be naïve Angelique! He did that to you, remember? He took his beloved wife to your bed! To your land! To your home! Men are what they are, a bunch of unfaithful! Even he having such a stunning and influent wife at his side! He's just a jerk and a bastard that used you. And uses her to gain power!"

She hated herself right now! She gave him all and the best of her to him. She saved that moron's life! She faced hell for him! And for what? He doesn't even care!

Why should her care so much?

She was making her way to the art gallery to set all the paintings Katarina had ordered so they could be delivered.

She was on her way when she heard loud screams through the hallways near the main stairs.

Christopher was yelling at his lover.

Angelique remained in silence listening to them. He claimed he loved Katarina.

Did he? She thought.

"Maybe he has a sick way of love…" she thought giving her unrequested mental opinion on the subject

She heard every word he said. That day she learned something new from him. She didn't know he drank that much.

"Strictly committed" he said. Somehow that made her laugh. Strictly committed but having other love affairs didn't seem to logical to her. That reminded her of those same words he used to tell her. That he only had her. He only loved her, blablabla.

She was so young. And stupid! For had ever believing it.

She was blind.

Now she couldn't believe him… and somehow pitied Katarina.

Everybody knew Katarina's immense love for him. She never hid that from anyone. She even showed their affections in public, proudly. They kissed in public. They walked holding hands in public. They hugged in public… habits that weren't so usual that time.

Public affection. She didn't doubt that. She remembered very well the time he wanted and did kiss her knowing her family was around. He was shameless.

She still remembered his kisses. How electrifying they were.

Some say that he and Katarina could even make love in public if they wanted to…

Making love…

Ah, she still remembered it! Secretly she remembered it. Safe in a secret box in her deepest memories. She didn't have that much of experience in quantity of men as she had had only two men in her life.

And shamefully she still remembered how good his love making was. She avoided comparisons. She enjoyed both men's style in bed.

But Christopher had something a keen… something different that she didn't have time to discover.

Something possibly Katarina knew and probably Cathlyn did too, as both women had some obsession with him.

"What am I thinking?!" she shook her head and slapped her face

The couple continued arguing and their voices seemed closer. She didn't want to pay attention anymore. It was too uncomfortable to witness the crap of a man Oliver's father was.

She hid behind a big statue near the stairs.

She wished she had met George first. He certainly was the right man for her. He was kind, gentle and patient with her. They had a lot in common even in their personalities.

Something she and Christopher had a loud difference. Yet, she had seen a softer side in him…

Almost soft as George…

The softness was gone when she witnessed Christopher giving his final ultimatum to Cathlyn as if he was the last authority.

As if, he was a king.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and Rockalmond for the reviews!  
**

 **So, does Christopher really believes he was seeing a ghost or could he be aware that it was indeed Angelique? humm, let's wait and see! :D**

 **And Angelique? What's really going on with her? xD**

 **Stay tuned!**


	34. Unfreezing Time

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Royal Chambers**

Katarina was lying on the divan, distant in her thoughts. Drinking a glass of wine.

" _A few weeks passed since Christopher returned to Bohma. In all this time, he only sent me one letter to know how things are going here._

 _I had barely noticed his absence until I received the letter. Busy with the settlements as the new head of Edonia, helping the people I can and dealing with women's cause for equality of genders and freedom to live their lives in their own has consumed my time. Besides being a mother to four children. Thank god, I have the help of Clairy to babysit them and Pierce to support me with governments' matters._

 _I have barely missed my beloved husband…_

 _After 11 years of marriage and changes in my cycle may have affected me somehow…_

 _Or maybe it is all Pierce's fault…_

 _Since that day he kissed me in the library, some of my sinful thoughts have him as the lead character. Our proximity have significantly changed and increased these past weeks._

 _I do not feel alone with him around, and I disguise it, but I see his eyes checking on me sometimes._

 _I know him too well to know he has never forgotten me!"_ she sighed turning her face to the window _, "And the same has happened to me… I still remember him… Us… Not even romantic Christopher has made me forget Pierce's romanticism… Those men have no comparison even acting the same way!_

 _I do not regret have chosen Christopher, but I guess I liked him more when he used to be a challenge for me._

 _Now Pierce is the challenge…_

 _And my attention, unconsciously, dragged by him and this new aura around him. This mysterious aura that has seduced me in a way I am not being capable to control myself. My thoughts. My desires._

 _We are no longer the young couple. Pierce is no longer the lap dog I could carry however I wanted._

 _Pierce has become my forbidden desire. My forbidden lust._

 _I cannot help but wonder what if I had chosen him instead of Christopher…_

 _How my life – our lives – would be now?_

 _Would we have reached this far?_

 _And more importantly…_

 _How long can I go on pretending I do not want him again?_

 _How long can I remain secluded in this chambers to avoid meeting him…and alone?"_

The brunette heard knocks on the door and thought it was her lady-in-waiting, but for her delight it was Pierce. Back to her shell, she inhaled deeply. Recomposing.

"I do not know if I am on a good day for visitors" she spoke avoiding eye contact

"I know you've been busy and bored and I do not take your reason, so I brought you this simple gift, to bring a little joy to your day" Pierce replied, handing a diamond necklace to Katarina

She turned to him suspicious of his attitude, "For me?"

"Yes"

"Should not you send gifts to your wife, I mean… my sister?"

"Consider as an anticipated birthday gift"

She laughed loud, "A very anticipated gift as you may know that my birthday is only in November!"

"I'm aware of that…but what? Isn't it always a day to celebrate every single day we get up with life and healthy?"

She laughed more, "Cut it off Pierce. A diamond necklace is never a simple gift much less when there is no real reason to celebrate!"

"True that"

"So why this now?"

He shrugged, "I can afford it now" he stepped closer to her

"Ahh…" she said making a face, lifting her eyebrows

"Something I couldn't over a decade ago…"

"That is indeed true!" she replied with a mysterious tone as she walked slowly closer to him, "We were all simpler back then…" she whispered on his ear starting a game of seduction

"You weren't…" he said directly

She nibbled the tip of his earlobe, "I was and I still am! Not much is needed to please me…" she whispered seductively

"I'm trying to please you…"

"I noticed!" she said stepping away

He turned to her

"What made you change?" she asked staring him deep in the eyes

"Nothing changed. You know that I've always been attracted for you since we were kids…"

"You lacked the right attitude…"

"And now I have it…" he said circling around her and whispered in her ear that she could barely hear what he was saying

She turned to him. Their faces inches apart. His breathe and warmth causing her shivers. She could see something different in his gaze.

"But you changed…" he leaned close to her ear, "You're letting me get this close…"

"I am waiting for the right attitude you say you have"

"I thought you belonged to Christopher" he said stepping away, making her feel the coldness of his distance

"I was never capable to choose between the two of you…inertly"

"You chose him"

She laughed, "We can only make one choice at a time…"

"You were always my only choice"

"My heart has two sides. One side to each of you"

He laughed, "So that means you still can't choose?"

She walked over him and bit her lips seductively, "I am choosing you now…" she whispered on his ear

"And what happens when he returns?"

"I choose him again"

"And then when he's absent, you choose me then?"

She gave a shrug, nodding in confirmation, "Yes, is not it what happened before?"

"So that's your cycle?"

"Pretty much the case, even though once or another have happened that even with him I thought of you…" she teased passing her hand briefly on his pelvis and stepped away

"How come?"

"After I saw you watching us…" she looked at him from head to toe in a seductive way, "I so expected that you would take the attitude and join us… it would be fun!" she laughed in a naughty way, "Having my two loves at the same time!"

"I don't think Christopher is capable of sharing you…"

"You have no idea what Christopher is capable of… just to please me!"

"He didn't seem willing to share you with me that day he caught us…"

She laughed, "There is the right time for everything! That was not the time!"

"So how…" he stopped talking when she pressed her finger on his lips

"Do you really want to lie down with me and run your fingers through my soft skin, beginning with my delicate feet, and slowly climbing up to find a passionate kiss... Or maybe you would rather lie down alone and watch while I take off my clothes, or, perhaps, today you prefer to leave the romanticism aside and indulge in the ardor of passion, the urgency of lovers, clinging to despair in my body, who begs for yours?

"Despair defines very well how I ..."

"Or I could describe in your ear my most forbidden desires, and then we make them all come true…"

"Well, the options are all wonderful… which one do you prefer to start?" he said rubbing himself against her body

"The one you have the attitude!" she replied grabbing hold of his bulge through his pants

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Northman Bedchambers  
**

" _Dear Christopher,_

 _I'm writing to inform you things are going smooth._

 _I still didn't inform Katarina about Charles' decision._

 _I did what you allowed me to do in order to continue my investigation._

 _I don't feel proud of myself and the shame has taken over me when I think of my wife._

 _I cannot endure this…_

 _I need you to take the lead again._

 _I need to see my wife, my family again._

 _I need you to return to your husband routine._

 _I don't serve to do this… you chose the wrong man for this task._

 _Maybe you should've had chosen Leonard as he seems to lack having heavy conscience flirting around with women while being married…Among other things possibly..._

 _._

 _._

 _PS: We need to have a very important conversation. In private. As soon as possible._

 _Regards,_

 _Pierce"_

* * *

 **Royal Toilet Chambers, Morning**

"Is it my impression or your majesty is blissful this morning?

"Is that so evident?" Katarina replied passing her hand on her arm while inside the bathtub

"Your smile is from ear to ear!"

"I am not good hiding my happiness. Never been good at that!"

"If I hadn't seen lord Northman leaving the chambers this early morning, I'd say the cause of your joy was your husband if he were in town… I have only seen you smiling like that for him"

"You do know me so well Lucille…" Katarina laughed for calling her favorite by the first name, "Lucy! I am sorry for the play, it is just I am too happy! Thrilled! I was not aware anymore of how intoxicating Pierce's skin could be! I do not know how I have forgotten that!"

"So you slept with him?"

Katarina made a pause and a naughty expression, "I did!"

"I thought you were exclusive of Christopher"

"I could if had never slept with Pierce before and I would if Christopher had never cheated on me!"

"What about Elizabeth?"

"You really do know how to be a turn down" she said rolling her eyes

"I'm sorry milady… it's just that I understand you paying revenge on your husband after all his infidelities, but your sister… she…"

"She is not woman enough to please a man like Pierce! Not to mention that she is very distant from here… in Bohma! Being the mother of his children! Ah, and she always knew he had feelings for me!"

"What if Christopher finds out?"

Katarina smiled making a face, "He does not have to!" _  
_

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

"Kate? Katerina!"

The young brunette listened to a distant voice calling her.

"Kate!"

The receptionist of the B.S.A.A. mumbled as she opened her eyes and saw, still with a blurred vision, a young brunette female at the bedside.

"Lu…"

"Get up, you're late for work!"

"What?" Katerina sat up in the bed in scare and looked at the alarm clock, "Oh dammit! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" she jumped from the bed and lectured her best friend

"I tried to, but you were in a so profound erotic dream with Piers and Chris that I was about to throw you out of the bed!"

"What? Erotic dream with Piers and Chris?"

"Yeah, I think so…you seemed to have called their names…"

"I don't remember any erotic dream with Chris! That's impossible. He's not even my type!" Katerina spoke dressing her new uniform

"Right!" the friend spoke with incredulity

"It's true! He's a weirdo!"

"A weirdo that balances you…"

"Why are you saying that to me? I love Piers!"

"I only said the weirdo balances you. I never saw any man bugging you so much just with his existence. I know you love Piers, but every time you talk about work, you mention his name. The captain, the weirdo, the rock, the insensitive… you have so many adjectives to him… I've seen powerful love stories starting with annoyance… you guys have chemistry" the friend spoke with irony

Katerina rolled her eyes, "That's never gonna happen! Chris Redfield keeps me away from him and away from him I will remain!" she said rushing to the bathroom

(*)

 **B.S.A.A. Headquarters**

Katerina checked her watch several times during her run from the bus stop to the main building. Dammit! The tight business skirt and the heels didn't help her. Her speed was like a baby's.

"Great way to start the new function, Kate, great way! 30 minutes late!" she cursed herself, "If I had a car!" she murmured

The 24-year-old brunette was wearing a green business outfit. She knew green was the favorite color of her new boss. She wanted to cause some good impression on the grumpy captain of the B.S.A.A., as despite he had helped her the night of her ankle accident, their proximity remained distant. They greeted politely and often he ignored her when Piers and her were talking.

She didn't like that man. She heard and witnessed how much the coworkers admired the so called captain and one of the original founders of the B.S.A.A., but for her he was just a moron juicer.

Right now, she regretted accepting the opportunity to replace Greta, his personal secretary due to her maternity leave.

But she needed the money. Her current condition didn't allow her to choose much. She had her goals and needs. She couldn't depend forever on Douglas' "good will" to give her things in trade of her sexual company to him. She wanted to break that chain. She was in her limit and often not being able to disguise her bad will to entertain him. She deserved better! She couldn't be forever the mistress of a billionaire.

She knew she had the capacity to achieve her goals and a better condition in her life. In need, she accepted the opportunity to work in the B.S.A.A., it was a way for her to have her own money for other necessities as Douglas not always gave her money.

In the B.S.A.A., she could make a career, but she had to start from the bottom and she saw the opportunity to replace Greta as a chance for her to show her skills, even at the cost of having to deal with Chris Redfield and his annoying girlfriend, Cathy White.

Both women had mutual dislike.

Katerina didn't know why Cathy, every time she could, acted like she owned Chris and needed to impose her significance to the captain in her face. What an idiot that insecure woman was! Why would her want anything with that grumpy juicer? He wasn't even her type! She didn't like all those muscles… he smelt good – ah he did smell good and she remembered that!  
Well, Piers smelt good too!  
Yet, Cathy White was an insecure bitch! She couldn't stand the short-haired agent!

Her necessities spoke louder, she was willing to stand the weirdo for a few months, and hopefully that would grant her a promotion or a salary increase after the period of being Chris Redfield's personal secretary. Knowing that man lived for work – he arrived early and left late, she counted with the extra-hours in her bank account. Somehow that was also a good way for her to stay longer away from Douglas as she would had the "working" excuse.

She reached the elevator's doors and prayed Chris Redfield would be late for work so he wouldn't notice her delay.

The doors opened.

Her eyes widened in scare. She noticed the gaze of the man checking on her from head to toe, and serious demeanor. Her legs felt heavy as she tried to step in in the cabin. She wished she was invisible right now.

"Good morning" she greeted him as her voice nearly failed and she looked down in embarrassment

"Good morning"

The doors closed. Strangely, there was just the two of them in the cabin. She was ready for the lecture.

"I'm sorry I'm late… I missed the bus…" she anticipated his lecture

"It's okay… It happens…"

"It was a bad way to start my first day with you…"

"Yeah I hope that won't happen again. I like to know what I missed in my absence and to know all the messages and tasks with anticipation so I have a better control of my routine and paperwork." His tone was soft but firm

"It won't happen again! I will be your eyes and ears to everything and always be there whenever you need me."

"Good. That's what I need. I need someone I can trust in my absence with all the paperwork"

"You can trust me! Just show me how you want it and like it, and I'll do it precisely"

A giggle escaped him. He noticed her nervousness. He was aware she wasn't a woman to get late. He had observed her. He was aware she was a woman of talents and deserved an opportunity to show her skills. Reason why he didn't show any objection when he was informed she was selected to replace Greta, his longtime secretary. He could've had said no. actually they even asked if he was according with their choice. He didn't oppose.

And there they were, alone in the elevator's cabin on their way to his isolated office at the end of the hallway. Both were late for their first day together as boss and employee.

"Relax Kate" he place his hand on her shoulder

She jumped in scare. A weird sensation cored her body. Her spine stiffened.

"I know depending on bus suck. There are things we cannot have control, so if you notice that you won't get on time, call me or send me a message… I'm not that inflexible"

The doors opened.

Now both were stiffened. Chris immediately removed his hand off Katerina's shoulder.

"Hey babe, good morning" he greeted the woman staring them with a very serious expression as he stepped out of the cabin

"Good morning" her tone was dry. Evidently nothing good from her side.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked as he leaned to give her a quick kiss

"Yes, I did" the woman replied not taking her eyes off the young brunette stepping out of the cabin, who evidently demonstrated discomfort. Why such discomfort?

"Were you looking for me?" he asked knowing Cathy didn't work in that floor and the only reason for her to be there was him

"Yes, I was, but there was no one there your phone was disconnected" the woman replied noticing the younger following them at some distance

"Ah, the battery died. I'm going to recharge it now… By the way, Kate is my new secretary"

"What? Really?" she looked back and noticed the young brunette forcing a smile to her as Chris had spoken loud enough for her to hear her name in their conversation – and she was late too…

"Yeah"

"So I guess Piers will have one more reason to spend more time with you then…" Cathy commented with sarcasm

Cathy knew the younger coworkers were having a thing. She confirmed it the night Chris had given a ride to the brunette. That information gave her some relief and an extra push for her to forgive Chris for his "intimacy" with the other girl. Yet, why was his hand on that one's shoulder? It was quick, but she noticed it.

All the way to his office, Katerina remained in silence. Thinking of several reasons why she should tolerate the annoying and insecure bitch named Cathy White.

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

 **Castle of Bohma**

The following morning, Christopher woke up feeling a strong headache and sensitive to the lights entering through the windows illuminating partially his bare chest. He wanted to stay longer in bed. He wasn't ready to start his day as the memories of the previous day came to his mind. His argument with Cathlyn and the illusion of Angelique.

An illusion…

 **Flashback**

 _He sat on the bed beside her and began to pull off his boots. She ran her fingertips along his naked back and waist. Her fingers gliding over the scar he still bore from the wound she treated when they met. His muscles contracted involuntarily with her touch._

 _"Does it hurt?"_

 _"No", he whispered, "Your touch is healing me"_

 _She sat up and leaned against his back, kissing his shoulders._

 _God, this girl had not only made him forget the awful mess he was dealing with, she had made him feel like a man who was capable of taking care of her, of protecting her, of being there beside her each day. She had loved him like no matter what happened tomorrow. He was all that important._

 _His chest felt tight with fear for what the morrow would bring, yet Angelique had comforted him and left him more satisfied than a man had the right to feel. She was everything a man could want in a woman. All his doubts had just been dynamited into the atmosphere._

 _"You alright?" she asked, her voice soft_

 _How could he answer that question? His heart was in his throat, filled with satisfaction, emotional attachment, and something that turned easily into love for this woman. He was also bereft at the knowledge of his duty at the court. His obligation as a knight and the man of trust of the king._

 _"I'm good" a sigh escaped from his tightly closed throat, "Angely, being with you is the best damn thing that has ever happened to me on the worst day of my life. I'm so messed up inside, yet here you are, soothing me better than any doctor could ever help. I just wish things were different…"_

 **End of Flashback**

Christopher knew that morning would not be good. Angelique made him feel like she would always be there. That she would wrap her arms around him and soothe away the day's hurts.

Christopher postponed his return to Edonia as per a request of Charles.

The thirty-five years old man and new representing of King Charles watched the training students of the military academy and future guardians of the kingdom. He remembered his training days with joy and satisfaction, despite the nostalgia it brought him.

He continued his round through the castle. At distance, he saw Cathlyn talking to some women. He felt ashamed for the way he had spoken to her, but still wasn't ready to apologize to her. She didn't notice he had seen her.

Continuing his round. His mind still had a hard time accepting that all of that will soon belong to him. He never imagined he could go so far and become a public figure. Yet, all that was only possible due to Katarina's efforts. She and her skills had put them in that pedestal. She was a smart woman and full of talents, besides being extremely beautiful. Many years had passed since they knew each other and Katarina didn't seem to age that much. She definitely had a more mature expression, but her beauty was still practically intact. She had always being a vain woman since they were young. She took care of her body and health. Her skin still impeccable even after four pregnancies.

He really had the most beautiful woman at his side. The most brilliant too. With her, he lived the glamour of being nearly untouchable. Unreachable. They were the most strong and influential couple of Bohma and Edonia. Probably of the whole Europe.

Ah, but the times he most enjoyed were the moments they spent as a family. As a couple when no one was watching them. When he could simply wear a light robe. He hated to constantly wear those heavy and tight luxurious outfits to present to people whom superior he was. Even wearing those outfits, he enjoyed walking in the streets and help people. He enjoyed being a part of them.

But soon that would drastically change. The responsibility of the head of state would delimit who he was and who the people were. The walls and gates of the castle would be the frontier between the luxury and the simplest.

He never dreamed of that.

Reaching the art gallery, he saw all the paintings of the family of Charles. The good-hearted king was soon to be the last of his dynasty.

Christopher studied the paintings. The history being told.

Things would be so different if he still was with Angelique…

The day before he thought he had seen her. Watching his misery. His misery in the luxury.

Why couldn't he forget her? Why couldn't he go after her? Reach her?

If the official painter Angely Reed was Angelique, how could they be so close but so distant at the same time? Where had their love gone? Why did they act like two strangers now?

The nun's word still echoed in his mind. His hear could feel Angelique was still alive. Somewhere, and not only in a deep whole inside his heart. His heart and some evidences screamed to him that Angely Reed was his Angelique. Now Lady Talbot.

Before his anger could be triggered by that surname, he heard a noise coming from behind him.

He looked back quickly and smiled warmly.

"Olly!" he greeted the boy who carried a small painting

"Mister Christopher…" the boy spoke surprised

The man smiled larger. He really enjoyed when the boy called him that way. Oliver always made him laugh and smile. Feel lighter.

"How are you?" he asked

"I'm good and you?" the boy replied

"I'm good too"

"Where's Maddy?"

"She's home"

"Ah…"

"But soon she'll come."

"Really?"

"Yes"

The man noticed some shyness or something different about the boy. He wasn't the typical hyper kid he used to be.

"Is everything alright, Olly?" he asked in concern

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"For nothing… I just had the impression that… never mind Olly… I guess the problem is me…"

The boy made a face. The man did seem altered. And the curiosity got the best of him, "Is everything really alright with you?"

He let out a sigh, "Don't worry about me Olly…"

"I can't help it Mister Christopher… what affects you, affects me…"

"It's just adult's stuff, Olly… By the way, what's that in your hands?"

"A portrait"

"May I see it?" he asked kneeling before the boy

The redhead boy nodded in agreement, yet slightly hesitant. Christopher saw a lake painting and read the signature: Olly Reed.

The man's eyes widened. Confused. His heart racing in his chest. What did that mean?

Both male were motionless. Speechless. As if the time had stopped. Right at the lake scene. Something like had happened so many years ago. Christopher Reed felt like being dragged to that past. The past that he recollected so well… when he and Angelique made love by the shore of the lake. The last moment when they had really been completely happy. Before the storm that separated them.

The phase he never removed himself out and climaxed inside her. Not fearing his seed could be planted in her.

A seed that he could be possibly be standing before, right now.

He stared the boy who stared him back. Hesitant, but fearless.

He looked for traces. The smallest ones. The pale skin, the red hair and the green eyes got the most attention and easily trapped him to notice the other traits.

The jaw. The face shape. The forehead. The lips… there they were… they were always there and he failed miserably seeing it before.

He didn't see any of George's features. He had noticed that before, but he didn't really give much attention to it back then, but now…

His heart was racing. His intuition screaming…

If Angely Reed and Angelique were the same person… Olly was his…

His seed of love.

The forbidden fruit.

The multiplied love…

"I have to go now Mister Christopher… I'll be waiting for Maddy… she's like a sister to me and I miss her…"

Christopher swallowed dryly. Affected by those words, "You're like a son to me too…Olly…"

The boy smiled slightly, "Would you like to be my father?"

"I'd be flattered Olly! I'd gladly be your father!" he spoke emotional, controlling his emotions

The boy smiled largely, "So you don't mind me using your Reed in my paintings, do you?"

"Of course not! You're a part of the Reed's!" the man forced a smile. Affected smile.

"So I see you soon… Dad…" the boy whispered before leaving the gallery

Christopher sat on his knees, holding the small painting. He was back to the lake. He passed his fingers on the screen, feelings every texture of the ink. At last, he passed his fingers on the name. On the signature.

"You're a part of me… Son…" he whispered emotional

Christopher stood up after hearing footsteps approaching the gallery. Recomposing himself quickly, he saw the messenger passing the door.

"His Majesty, letter for you"

Christopher grabbed the paper, and frowned.

Pierce had asked him to return…

Christopher Reed found himself in a crossroads.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	35. The Letter

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Days Later**

" _Dear Angelique,_

 _I'm writing you this letter to apologize. To ask your forgiveness._

 _I have made some mistakes that don't allow me to sleep at night._

 _Restless, I can't focus in my duties and be the man I should be._

 _Now I realize how corrupted I have been for my feelings… and these feelings are getting me distant from the man I was supposed to be._

 _I have been dishonest. My principles have been shaken. My moral have been disrupted. I feel guilty all the time._

 _And before this madness takes me away, I write you this letter in my last attempt to do the right thing. The thing I didn't do when I had the chance…_

 _I know I can't go back in time. None of us can… But I believe there's still time…_

 _Time to do the right thing._

 _I want you to know I never had the intention to hurt you…or anyone… and that was my mistake!_

 _Now everyone will get hurt…_

 _I couldn't see it through… and shame is what's left of me…_

 _I've committed treason without having the intention for it… until last night…_

 _So before I fall to my disgrace, I give you back everything that once "I" took from you…_

 _The awful truth…_

 _I wish things were so different and I hope there's still time…_

 _Time for you and Christopher…_

 _And Olly…_

 _Please, forgive me… and forgive my mistake for loving Katarina beyond everything…_

 _._

 _._

 _God bless us all,_

 _Pierce Northman_ "

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Early Morning  
**

Pierce Northman was in his chambers packing his belongings when the sun wasn't even up. He couldn't stay in that place any longer and decided to leave before Katarina was up.

Remorse and lust struggled inside him. Even after a long bath, he still could smell her scent on his skin. Katarina's scent. Their lust scent.

Ah, a part of him wanted to feel her again. Even after a decade, she still had the power to intoxicate him and drive his feelings crazy. His skin crazy.

Their nights of passion for the past week almost resuscitated, if it was resuscitated for some moments, a side of him he thought was dead. A part of him that died the day Katarina chose Christopher over him. In a time that he had all his love to offer her. All his fidelity to offer her. All his loyalty to give her. A time he was capable of being her accomplice in her schemes.

He no longer wanted to be that man again. After all the hard work, he did to kill that man inside him… and he was only capable of doing it with the dedication and sweetness of Elizabeth.

He admitted he married her without love and not for the right reasons. He married her in impulse and needy. His heart was orphan of Katarina, broken into several pieces and for nearly twelve years, Elizabeth helped him gather all the pieces and bloom a type of love he never felt before. Calm, gentle and trustable.

He fell in love with Elizabeth in a way that wasn't disturbing, but strong enough to make him not want Katarina's lust back.

He and Elizabeth had gone through many difficult moments to achieve their stability. Elizabeth was good and kind. That was her essence. They suffered together when they were almost unable to have their own family after all the miscarriages she had.

He was ready to only have her as his family, until the day their hope was restored when she gave birth to their firstborn and then a miracle happened and she gave birth to twins.

Over the years, they struggled with Elizabeth's fragile health, and she had been ill before he came to Edonia.

Months had passed since they had last seen each other. Every day he made sure to write her a letter, to update her and to reassure her he was still with her even in the distance.

In all those months, the best part of the day was when the messenger delivered her letters to him and he waited anxiously to the next delivery.

He was relieved Elizabeth was healthy again, but all that changed after reading the content of the letter of Angelique's letter.

The mistrust seed had been planted that day

And then he grew suspicious of Katarina's activities. She hired Nicholas Keane as her spy and personal messenger. And then her secret meeting with the Walker's.

Initially he just observed them at distance. He knew Katarina was up with something. And something behind Christopher's back. The man she yelled to the world she loved.

How could she do that to him too?

He knew Christopher had finally surrendered to her love and did learn to love her back. He adored her. He loved her with passion. It took a long while, but that had finally happened. He was even jealous of her. A jealousy that not even himself had been capable of feeling for the stunning brunette.

Christopher had almost beat up Leonard in one occasion. Actually, he almost hit any other man who stepped closer to Katarina in inappropriate way, according to his evaluation.

Even himself had been reason for reprehension whenever he and Katarina were seen alone. Christopher always made sure to show that Katarina was his to whoever needed to see that, especially the male crowd.

Christopher had finally buried Angelique for Katarina, and how could she be capable to act behind his back after all those years of struggle to make him love her?

Was she a player or what?

And then one day, when they moved to Edonia, Christopher said those words… gave him that order

 **Flashback**

"You'll be my eyes and ears when I'm not around Katarina. I need to know the men she has contact with"

"Why me?"

"Because she trusts you"

"But…"

"But nothing. That's an order! The same way Lucy is her eyes and ears, you'll be mine"

"So it's Lucy who told her about Cathlyn back then?"

"Yes. She planted the suspicion seed in Katarina's jealousy and since then Katarina has believed Cathlyn has been my mistress"

"Isn't she?"

"Of course not! Whatever I feel for Cathlyn is under control, but I cannot control her actions…only my reactions"

"So what if Lucy or Kat see me peeping her?"

"Easy. You have the excuse you still love her…"

Pierce gasped, "I don't love her"

"But it's your best excuse to ease her suspicions about your actions"

"But Elizabeth…"

"Look! If I could stay 24hours for seven days a week with Katarina I would! But I can't. I have other things to do and I need someone to be my right hand and support in my absence. I only trust you!"

Pierce let out a long sigh in defeat, "Is there anything in specific you mistrust about her?"

"Yes. The origin of the black powder she's taking. She keeps hidden in different places in small glass bottles. She usually drinks with liquid and only when she's alone. I need to know who the sender is and what's that for."

"If she didn't tell you, why would she tell me?"

"She might not tell you either, and that's why you will follow her everywhere and do whatever you need to find out. With me around she avoids taking it. I only noticed that in a few times she thought I was sleeping and I caught her in action, but I pretend I haven't seen it"

 **End of Flashback**

How he regretted staying longer in Edonia! How he regretted not had taken his family with him.

He couldn't continue sleeping with Katarina to obtain all the info Christopher wanted. He couldn't sleep with her again. He couldn't cheat on Elizabeth again.

He could no longer be Christopher's spy.

He expected that what he obtained would be enough to ease Christopher's curiosity on the matter.

He couldn't face the brunette again. Her flesh was still too fresh on his own. His male guts enjoyed her libido, but he was more than just libido.

He had a conscience, and now after being corrupted. It was about time to break all the silence he kept all those years.

Once upon a time, he believed Katarina's eternal love for Christopher.

Now he had doubts if she ever really loved his best friend and superior.

He wondered if he had been an accomplice in keeping separated those two simple souls in order for Katarina's biggest whim.

He wondered if Katarina was really capable of loving anyone else besides herself…

.

.

 _Pierce Northman no longer was Katarina's lap dog._

* * *

 **Royal Bedchambers, Morning  
**

Katarina was standing in before the large mirror. She touched her face with her fingers, analyzing it. She made faces as she massaged her face skin.

She walked to the bedside table and opened the drawer, retrieving a small glass bottle from it.

She looked to the sides looking for some bottle with liquid. No alcohol, no milk or water. Not willing to wait any longer, she turned the bottle inside her mouth and used her own saliva to drink the black powder.

She heard knocks on the door and quickly hid the bottle inside her dress' cleavage.

"Come in" she yelled arranging her makeup

"Milady…"

Katarina looked through the mirror's reflection, noticing the astonished face of Lucille, "What face is that?"

"I didn't find His Grace Northman anywhere"

"Maybe he left for a haunt…"

"No, I don't think so…"

"Why?"

"I heard one of the guards saying he left before the sunrise in a carriage with all his belongings"

"Weird… was there any emergency?" Katarina said thoughtful

"Not that anyone heard of…"

"Any news on Charles?"

"He's still alive, but the Privy Council have discussed his succession…"

"And who will be his successor?"

"We still don't know. They were waiting for some letter of Charles, as far as I heard"

"I waited too long! Fucking time Pierce decided to leave! I need to go to Bohma and solve my situation!" the brunette spoke annoyed, "Any news on my husband?"

"He's still in Bohma"

"Doing what?" Katarina almost yelled and let out an annoyed sigh, "I do not even know why I ask what he might be doing… he might be enjoying his time with that bitch!"

"Cathlyn?"

"Who else? Is there anyone else now?" Katarina yelled getting jealous

"Not that I know of…"

"Dammit! I cannot wait his return nor the Privy Council's decision… I need to make my move before is too late!"

"What's your plan?"

"Tell to prepare a carriage and call Leonard. I am heading to Bohma!"

* * *

 **Green Hills, Bohma**

Angelique was in the backyard tending the garden when she heard her mother-in-law calling her from the door.

"Letter for you"

Angelique removed the gloves and kept them in her apron's pockets as she walked over the older woman and grabbed the papers from the woman's hand

"This stamp… It's Northman's insignia. Why is he sending you letters?" the woman asked with a tone of mistrust

Angelique shrugged, "I don't know… I'm about to find out"

The older Talbot didn't hide her curiosity, but her curiosity would have to wait as she heard knocks on the door.

Alone, she read firstly Pierce's letter.

The redhead was aware that the Duke of Bohma was behind her separation from Christopher. They had discussed that already. She couldn't say she had entirely forgiven him, but she tried to reason it in a more optimistic way. If he had allowed her to meet Christopher, only god knows how her life would be by now. Probably she'd be living with Christopher's alms only because they had a son. Maybe she would be his casual mistress like Cathlyn. Maybe they'd have more children. Bastards. She wouldn't be so happy like she is now. She'd be living a misery and have a bad reputation as the mistress of the governor of Edonia or whatever he'd be…

And she didn't deserve that. That was not what her feelings for him were made of. And either ways she'd have respected the worlds they lived and their differences. Either ways she'd let him be with the stunning noble woman and their child. Olly didn't mind being a bastard.

A noble child was a noble child and Maddy was such a little angel that she'd never allow her to have a bad fate and be disgraced. Either ways, she would chose over her love for Maddy.

If Pierce had allowed her to stay with Christopher, she wouldn't have the simple and happy life she has now with the Talbot's. She wouldn't have George and his complete loyalty. His full love and little piece of heaven they made with love. Yes, she did learn to love George in such caring way that she no longer could see herself without him and his support.

Maybe Pierce made the right decision and allowed her to live the best with George. She took long to allow him to enter her heart, but the moment he did, she had no regrets and wondered why didn't she do it before.

Possibly the dowser was right. Her fate was written and nothing would change that. Her fate was not to be with Christopher. Yet, he'd always be her first love and the man that taught her to be better. The man that opened her up to the world. The man who made her a woman and gave her another piece of heaven, Oliver. She'd be always grateful for that.

She'd never forget Christopher, and she didn't want to. She had accepted that he was not her final destination, he had been the path for her destiny with George. As his destiny was with Katarina.

She felt lighter the day she stopped fighting that fact.

Pierce had been forgiven now.

Then she started reading the other letter. She bit her lips as she fought the tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't believe what her eyes were reading.

(*)

Margareth headed to the door, yet her mind still focused in the curiosity of what Pierce Northman had to tell Angelique. At first, when she received the letters from the messenger, she thought of not delivering it to Angelique as she imagined the content was about Christopher, but after a second thought, she decided she didn't have that right. Maybe it was something very important and she wouldn't forgive herself if anything bad happened to her family because of her selfish act as she remembered Angelique had asked for his help to intervene for Maddy.

Knocks again.

"I'm coming" she yelled noticing the impatience in the other person outside. Probably a guard to collect the taxes as they had that habit of being impatient to wait.

She took a small bag with coins and headed to the door.

Her heart raced when the wind outside blew in her way, as her eyes widened in shock.

"Lady Talbot" the man spoke with a serious tone

"Your majesty…"

"May I see your daughter-in-law?"

"She…" the woman spoke hesitant

"Don't lie to me. I know she's there. I saw her when your son left and she hasn't left ever since"

"I wasn't going to lie… I just wondered if she is willing to speak with you. I should ask her first"

"She doesn't need to speak with me. I just want to see her"

"Why? You can see her at the castle…"

"You know I don't need permission to enter the manor and even less I need to give you any explanation of my motives to be here… but I'm doing it the nicest way. So may I?"

The woman was completely opposite to that man's presence at her home. Still, she was aware of his position in the kingdom and there was nothing she could do to go against him if she intended to not go to prison.

Defeated, she slowly opened the door so he could pass, and followed him close.

(*)

Angelique was sobbing as she read her father's revelations.

Anger, disgust, deception bombarded her mind. Crushed her heart. Torn her soul apart.

She knew he never really liked her, but be an accomplice in her assassination seemed to be too much even from him, despite his physical abuse that she still carried the scars on her skin.

She could still feel the taste of blood in her mouth remembering it. Her skin still remembered the pain of the aggressive contact of the punches, kicks and pushes.

Reading that made her remember as if it was just yesterday that it happened. The bruises had disappeared, but the memories were very much clear in her mind.

For years she struggled with those memories and one of the biggest reasons why she never allowed anyone to touch her ever since, and why she took so long to allow George touch her skin even in a kind way.

Her skin still hurt after years. As if her flesh was still exposed to the pain inflicted.

The only touch that didn't hurt her was her son's.

The man that gave her life was a monster.

Katarina was a monster!

She didn't even have time to finish reading the letter, as she could only read until the part the brunette's name was mentioned and her money. And to make her day worse, she heard that voice.

The voice that once was music to her ears, was now reason to her panic.

She looked around looking for a way out. How could she face the husband of the woman who paid for her assassination?

How could she face the man that brought hell to her life?

The panic consumed her. She was cornered in the backyard with no way out. She hid the letters in the apron's pocket with lots of difficulty. Her blurry eyes and trembling body.

As the steps came closer, her heart seemed to be about to explode.

The blurred vision turned into darkness. Her legs failed in weakness

Her mind was gone.

(*)

"Angely!" they screamed simultaneously as they found the redhead lying on the ground, unconscious.

Christopher turned her up in his arms and checked her vital signs. They called her name nonstop as he tried to bring her back

"Go call doctor Vladimir!" he ordered in despair, carried her to a chamber, and lied her in the bed

.

.

" _Angely, please. Wake up…"_

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **And they finally met! Almost twelve years later they finally met!**

 **The wheel of life is finally turning...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	36. Separate Ways

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

There he was…

Fourteen years later Christopher Reed assisted the girl, now a woman, who saved his life when he was a twenty-one-year-old young man. Full of dreams and idealisms. A young man that wasn't so marked by life experiences.

He held the redhead's hand as he observed all of her traces.

If he was correct, Angelique was now a thirty-one year old woman.

A woman!

Now looking at her face, and her closed eyes, he realized how time had flew!

She still had delicate features, but something was different about her.

Part of the innocence she had so evident on her face was gone. Matured.

Her hand was still soft just as he remembered. She didn't color her nails nor used makeup, just as he remembered, but she looked a bit more feminine now.

Her lips so pinky, her hair was longer, her face the same he loved to admire 14 years ago.

That woman was definitely Angelique Stafford.

But no longer His Angelique…

Now that woman belonged to another man.

At that thought, unconsciously he squeezed her hand.

"Angely…" he whispered watching her

It was so long ago since they stayed alone. When he watched her sleep. When he saw her unconscious…

The last time he had seen her, she had gone through some fainting. And silly of him not having considered her condition back then.

Maybe that was the case again…

However now he was sure it wasn't his seed provoking that…

He squeezed her hand again and inhaled deeply. His Angely was George's…

He heard her mumble.

"Angely" he called her excited

He waited her time to regain her forces and open her eyes.

His heart pounding in his chest in nervousness as it was just a matter of time until their gazes would meet.

Eternal seconds. The time slowly torturing him as she regained her conscience.

"Christopher…" she whispered

Her kind voice was still the same. The green-eyes were still the same, and her gaze when scared hadn't changed.

"Angely…I'm glad you're awake!" he spoke nearly whispering, containing whatever exaggerated excited expression. Probably he failed doing that.

"What are you doing here?" she frowned, letting go of his grip

He tried to ignore the pain of her attitude.

"I needed to see you…"

"Why?" she asked almost in a defensive tone

He looked confused. He wasn't ready for her questioning behavior. He was still having a hard time processing her distance even so close to him.

"Because…"

He left his sentence in hang. His mind went blank as they heard a noise at the door and Angelique's attention immediately dragged to the little male toddler at the door.

"Mommy…" the little brunette, green-eyed boy called, requesting her attention

In order to help her avoid making too much effort and leave the bed quickly, Christopher in a quick reflex walked over the boy and took him in his arms to deliver him to the redhead, sitting up on the bed.

He had done that so many times with Kat and their children…it was a natural act for him.

"Thank you…" Angelique smiled faintly and looked at the boy, "Say thank you your majesty" she instructed the boy

"No… it's not needed. I'm just a civilian here…"

"But I need to teach him how to address to you when you're not a civilian… it's your title"

"You know I don't really care about that"

"But it's the tradition… he needs to learn how to address to people like you"

Christopher let out a sigh.

"So what does your majesty is doing here? Do we owe you any tax or money?" she said almost in a cold way

"No… I came to see you"

"You already saw me… I'm sure you have other things to do…"

"Are you kicking me out?"

"The civilian yes. You have no reason to stay here… I'm already fine! Or will you use your title at your convenience to impose your wish to stay longer than necessary?"

"I could do that…but I won't… not with you"

She gasped

That moment their attention turned to Margareth, followed hurriedly by her son George and Doctor Vladimir as they entered the chamber.

Christopher caught George's glimpse and the sparkles of mutual jealous was exchanged by both men.

"Oh thank god darling, you're awake!" said the woman with relief

"My love…" George said as he sat at her side and held her grip, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm sorry if I caused any concern… I'm feeling better" Angelique spoke apologetic

"I'll still examine you… just for precaution" Vladimir said

Christopher, George and Maggy left the bedchambers. The woman, noticing the atmosphere between the men, and knowing her son too well to know he wouldn't stay silent in that man's presence, she preferred to leave them alone alongside her grandson Victor.

"What are you doing here? Did you come to torment my wife?"

Christopher gasped, "Why would I torment your…wife?"

"She fell sick because of you!"

"She fell sick because of her own lies"

"Her lies?" George gasped

"Your lies?"

"Our lies?"

"Don't play the fool. I know the truth."

"If you really knew the truth, you'd know who the true liar really is…which in the case is you."

"Me?"

"You!"

"Low your voice!"

"Or what? You'll send me to prison just because you think you can? You and Katarina deserve each other!"

"As a matter of fact I don't think I can, I actually can! I don't need permission to visit the population and please leave my wife's name out of your dirty mouth. She has nothing to do with your lies!"

"Leave my manor. No one wants you here!"

"My son does!"

"You don't have any son here! Both boys are mine!"

"Oliver is my son!"

"He's My son, he's a Talbot! You can see that in his birth certificate! So with all the respect, please leave my property. You have nothing to do here"

That moment, the bedchambers doors opened, stopping the men's discussion

"Doctor, how is my wife doing?" George asked in concern

"Your wife is perfectly fine, her collapse was due to her condition"

"What?"

Christopher didn't say it loud, but his expression was the same as George's listening to those words. His eyes immediately turned to look at Angelique who was sitting on the bed as Vladimir informed George about her pregnancy.

For an instant, their gazes met. Angelique could read the pinch of pain in her old love's eye. She briefly looked down, she never expected him to be there when her condition would be informed to George. That moment was quite embarrassing considering all their current circumstances.

George Talbot could not hide his excitement as he entered the room to greet her.

Christopher Reed definitely had nothing else to do in that place, for that day… Knowing his presence was inconvenient and unpleasant for him to witness the happiness of his rival, the new sovereign of Bohma decided to leave and save the little dignity he felt he still had.

As if in slow motion, the old lovers were separated again. By the news. By the circumstances. By the time.

Twelve years had passed since they had last seen each other. They could wait a bit more to meet again.

Christopher's primary reason had been concluded. He confirmed "his" Angelique was still alive.

That little detail could cause major problems and he knew that.

Legally speaking.

Legally Oliver was George's son. Legally Angelique was still alive. Legally they were still husband and wife as his divorced status was based in her death. She wasn't dead.

Angelique was still his…

His legal wife.

Legally Oliver could still be a Talbot, as per registration. Yet, he was a Reed.

And Katarina and their children… the real bastards of the story.

Legally, he could be accused of bigamy.

And so could Angelique. She also could be accused of false misrepresentation.

As the new sovereign, he had the power to decide her fate. Their fate.

Katarina has now become his long-standing mistress.

Maybe that's the reason why he was never capable of loving her entirely. A married man could never belong entirely to his concubine. The law kept them apart.

If the population learned that, the biggest scandal would have unimaginable consequences.

Christopher feared Katarina's reaction if she ever learned that, but he knew she would explode.

He had now become an accomplice of that big lie as he had chosen to keep undercover Angelique's alive status.

As he had chosen living his life with Katarina as at the same time, he had to accept sharing his Angelique with George.

He wondered for how long he could stand that.

Which side would he chose: love or duty?

* * *

 **Edonia, Market**

Jillian Valence was doing her groceries when she stopped by a shop of fabrics. The owner of the shop immediately came to attend her and showed her other varieties colors of silk.

"Blue? That color suits you well your grace" the man spoke politely

She smiled softly

Leonard Keane walked hurriedly among the crowd in the streets of the open market on his way to the castle after receiving the message from Katarina.

He was passing by the narrow street near the fabric shop when he saw Jillian talking to a man in front of the fabric shop.

They seemed comfortable with each other. He could see the gallant look of the man.

He bit his lips and subtly walked over her.

"Good morning your grace" he said interrupting their conversation

Jillian looked to the side and gasped, "Good morning" she replied politely

"May I help you with the bags?" he said beckoning

Noticing the duke's behavior, the shop owner decided to leave them alone and entered back the shop to attend another costumer who was talking to his assistant.

Jillian noticing Leonard's behavior stepped away from him subtly, "What's wrong with you Leonard?" she lectured him as she walked over an ally

"What was that?" he asked following her

"What was that what?"

"You and that…man?"

"He's the owner of the shop! I came to buy some fabrics…"

"And did you need to be so smiley and approachable?"

She smirked, "What? Why are you having this tone with me?"

"I saw you!"

"Watch yourself Leonard Keane!"

"I didn't like what I saw! You're a duchess!"

"I don't owe you any explanation!"

"You don't, but you need to impose respect!"

"Hold your tongue! I'm not what you're implying!"

"I'm not implying anything! I saw the way he looked at you! You were being easy on him…"

She slapped his face. The sound echoed across the walls of the ally, "Shut up! Who do you think you are to talk to me like that? I'm no hooker and there's nothing wrong moving on with my life and being friendly with someone"

Leonard could feel the burn on his face, not as much as his boiling blood of jealousy. Jillian deserved a man at her level and not a simple shopper. She deserved better than that.

"I'm trying to protect you"

"Protect me?"

"Yes, protect you from the nefarious interests of an average man!"

"So I guess you're talking about yourself!"

"What? Me? Why?"

"Because you are committing the crime of cheating! You should respect your wife and leave me alone!"

"I don't love her! My love is you, Jillian!"

"So you should've had loved me… Now deal with it, Leonard"

"I regret it so much every single day Jill… I can't accept I lost you…"

"You preferred the nightstand. So deal with the consequences and leave me alone!"

"I know I was weak… but you destroyed my hope in making me wait without an answer…"

"I was mourning my husband! I couldn't answer you right away… you should've had been patient… so please, let me move on!"

He grabbed firmly hold of her grip, "I can't…" he whispered, "Everyone makes mistakes…we all deserve a second chance…"

"We had our chances Leon… But we ended up marrying other people…"

"I just married her because she was pregnant… you know that…"

"So you should've had kept your dick inside your pants when you knew I was free and only mourning my late husband… he let a piece of him with me…I couldn't just let you come in when the bed was still warm… you know people talk…"

"I never touched her since then… my marriage has not been consumed… I will divorce her"

"And leave your son without a father?"

"No… I'll forever be his father! But a man and a woman don't need to stay together to be parents…and a loveless marriage is bad to everyone!"

She looked down, confused, and then back at him as he lifted her chin up, "You really haven't consumed it?"

"I'm incapable of touching her! I only want to touch you…feel you… love you…" he whispered as their bodies were inches distant

They could feel the warmth of their bodies. Their hearts racing in their chests,

His voice so smooth like velvet. The smooth touch of his hand on her delicate face skin causing her shivers.

Alone in that narrow alley, nobody witnessed the couple struggling to not surrender to their electrical touches,

There was a long while since Jillian Valence had been touched by a man. She had forgotten how good that could be. Especially if the touch came from the man she most loved, Leonard.

They were so little inches apart, yet so distant.

If he was being sincere, there was a long while since he didn't feel a woman's skin and that was intriguing. A flirty man like Leonard Keane living in celibate seemed to be impossible to believe.

But he wasn't so flirty as before. So true fact that she never saw him teasing Katarina or ever gracing her beauty.

Was he just fooling her to ease her? Or…

Before she could continue questioning that mentally, her mind stopped as her lips felt the smoothness of his lips. The warmth of his mouth. The caresses of his longing kiss. How she missed that. how she longed for him and his skin.

She let the bags fall to the ground as she enlaced her arms around his neck and surrendered to the passion of that kiss as he pressed her against the wall with his body.

The dark alley hid two souls in love… two souls that could make love right away, but they couldn't! that couldn't happen.

Jillian Valence wasn't woman to be any man's mistress, even if the man was the love of her life.

In an abrupt movement, she pushed him away.

"No!" she screamed, "This can't happen! This is wrong!"

Gathering her things from the ground, Jillian Valence ran away.

"Jillian, wait!" Leonard screamed as the woman in blue dress disappeared in the crowd

Frustrated, tormented and delayed, the duke made his way to the castle.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

" _She's pregnant…"_

Those simple words echoed in his mind. Those simple words tortured his heart. His Angelique, his Angely and that…man! They…Ugh… he couldn't stand it.

He saw the embarrassment in her gaze. Twelve years had passed but she still was as transparent as the crystalline water of the lake they met.

She was aware they were still connected.

But why? Why did she hide from him all those years? Was her love for George stronger than the truth? Were her feelings for George stronger than the purity they lived?

She was pure, right?

Ugh! It didn't matter anymore…

She conceived his son, his firstborn male child and not Kat as he had believed. However, Kat gave him his firstborn female child, Lilly.

Oliver was a Reed like Lilly. Like Beau and Phillip. His beloved blood children.

Three boys and a girl. He was good making male heirs!

He giggled. He was a proud father.

Unfortunately, he wasn't a proud husband. Probably he didn't have that right.

He hadn't been a good example of a husband either. At least not towards Kat.

But he never cheated on Angelique, and never felt like doing it. His heart was entirely hers when they were together and for so many years even after her "death". Reason why he was a careless husband to Katarina.

He wasn't proud of that.

Yet, Katarina hadn't been the best example of wife either. She lied to marry him. He remembered they didn't have the actual intercourse to impregnate her. For some time he had doubts if he had done it all that night on his 23rd birthday. Combined with the devastation of the news of Angely's death, he had no reason to oppose that lie.

He bought Katarina's lie and he tried to punish her with his distance. His indifference. As if testing her. Her so called love. Her tolerance. Her patience.

He wasn't oblivious to Katarina's horny side. He knew her too well for that. Initially he didn't mind as he kept Angelique in his heart.

That changed the night he sent Angelique's belongings to the mausoleum. From that night on, he decided to give Katarina a chance.

Maybe it was too late for that. He had hurt her enough with his cheatings and his stubbornness in keeping a wall between his feelings and hers.

So late that she slept with Pierce, but he knew she tried to fight it. She tried to resist, but he needed to be sure her heart was entirely his, as he knew about their past and how she broke the man's heart when he appeared alive. She was willing to marry Pierce when she believed he was dead.

The same case of him and Angelique's.

However, Katarina's cheating didn't hurt him as much as Angelique's did, as it was a part of his secret investigation.

He had a completely different vision of the redhead girl. So angelical. So pure.

Only his…

She wasn't.

Not anymore…

And that crushed his heart.

Twelve years were too long to resist. Twelve years changed everything. Twelve years separated them.

Twelve years had passed since the time had stopped at the lake moment…

He sighed deeply with a heavy sadness.

He had to accept his destiny wasn't with his Angelique as he wished. As he once believed. As he once craved so hard.

He wanted to cry, but men don't cry… he had to sink in all the pain of his youth memories and be a real man. A thirty-five year-old man. The head of family.

And the current head of the state!

He let out a heavy and frustrated long sigh and looked around to bring himself back to the reality.

He was learning to harden and silence butterflies.

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia, Throne Chambers**

Leonard Keane entered chambers and walked over the lady in a sumptuous red gown, made of the finest silk and jewelry, and a red crown. He bowed to her as he greeted her.

"How can I serve you?"

"Why did you take so long?"

Leonard cleared his throat, "I was at the market"

"The groceries could have waited!" Katarina almost yelled

"Forgive me. That won't happen again"

"You'd better because I need a responsible man to represent me well!"

"What do you mean?"

"I need to make a trip to Bohma and I need someone of my trust to take care of the affairs here"

"I thought Pierce was that person…"

"Pierce is gone as well" she spoke in an annoyed tone interrupting him

"I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to annoy you…"

"So do not speak stupidity!"

Leonard bowed in acceptance

"So… back to what I was saying… I need someone of my trust, and that person is you. You are a duke and you are used to such affairs and handling subjects of territory."

"May I ask how long will you be out?"

"I do not know. I hope to be quick, but… but that do not only depend on me"

"Alright… and when will you be leaving?"

"Right away. I was just waiting for you"

"You can trust me your majesty. Have a safe trip"

"Keep me posted"

"I will!"

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

 **Bohma, Lake House**

Sitting on the edge of the wooden pier, Angelina Schmidt was holding a notebook on her lap and a pencil. She made a pause to admire the landscape surrounding her. The enchanting blue of the water, so crystalline that she could see the depth.

She let out a long sigh, looking distantly.

Looking back at the notebook on her lap and the drawing of a face of a man, "Chris…" she whispered

Passing her fingers delicately, smoothing the pencil effect, she wondered where that certain captain had been.

"Oh, there you are"

Angelina turned around and saw Mr. Lionel coming at her direction walking slowly, she placed her notebook to the side and stood up to help him walk, "Mr. Lionel, you shouldn't make so much effort. Your assistant should've had called me to go inside"

"Oh no darling, I need to feel the fresh air. I spend so much time in there that I almost feel like being part of the furniture" the old man spoke in a playful way

The young redhead laughed. She loved the old man's sense of humor.

That old man had a youthful spirit. His smile and playful mannerisms covered his terminal condition. At least, that was what the assistant had told her about Mr. Lionel's health.

 **Flashback**

"I noticed you look more concerned than the usual and I also noticed Mr. Lionel has spent most of his time sleeping or resting. He's not even going to the museum anymore…"

"That's indeed true, Angely…Mr. Lionel's great-grandson will take care of the museum from now, so Mr. Lionel took some treasures to the lake house as there are things the public don't to know…"

"I understand… considering his history…"

The mid-aged man looked to the side with a saddened expression

"How long do you work for Mr. Lionel?"

"I know him all my life…Our families used to be close, but I moved to Bohma when I was 18 and since then I never let his side"

"So he's like a family to you…"

"Yes, he's my family and my mentor for 40 years… I have spent most of my life dedicating myself to him than to my own family…"

"Do you have children?"

"Yes I do. And a wife too! But she understands… sometimes she spends time with us too"

Angelina smiled softly, "It must be hard for you to see him that way…"

"It is… but Lionel decided to suspend the meds… he's ready to leave… and a part of me agrees that this decision is the best for him…every mission has an end…" the man spoke saddened

Angelina didn't know what to say and just placed her hand on the man's shoulder in support. She presumed Mr. Lionel had a terminal disease and preferred not to get into such details.

 **End of Flashback**

Angelina walked alongside the old man and couldn't help her observation. Mr. Lionel was good in covering his condition. No one could tell that old man was so ill, despite his tired look… but well, no one could judge that on a man of his age!

They entered the lake house. Her eyes immediately dragged to the portraits on the walls.

She couldn't help but to feel like in a time machine and back to the past of that location.

A feeling of nostalgia took over her. That happened every time she visited that house. That land. She avoided the barn for some reason.

The paintings on the walls of important figures in the history of Bohma and Edonia seemed so real as if they were old pictures.

The woman whom had a similar name to hers definitely had a talent she herself somehow envied. She wished she had that level of technique, that's why she practiced daily. Always improving herself.

She noticed new objects and some boxes were piled near the large portraits of Katarina and Angelique behind Mr. Lionel's desk.

"Those are gifts I have to deliver for special people" the old man broke the silence, "I just hope they will come to receive it…after you inspect it"

Angelina made a puzzled face, "After I inspect it?"

"Yes darling… I want and need you to know the whole story of this nation…"

She opened her lips to say something, but she just couldn't. Her voice failed. Her brain failed processing any sentence to be spoken.

"I can sense your curiosity and connection to Bohma… and somehow you are…"

"It's a beautiful place, especially this land…"

"And I'll return it to the original owner soon…"

"Is that why you want me to inspect things?"

"No…I just… I believe you're ready to know the whole truth and with that knowledge you'll be capable to make the right decisions when the times comes…"

"What do you mean?"

"The calling…the encounters…reunions…"

"I'm sorry Mr. Lionel…I don't understand…"

"You will…"

Angelina made a face. She really didn't know what to think or to say, and she also didn't want to sound disrespectful.

"I saw you draw Christopher… I mean, Chris…"

Her heart accelerated for no reason, "Oh… yeah…I…" she stuttered

The old man laughed, "He's a distinct man for you"

"He saved my life! Did I tell you that story?"

The old man smiled, "What goes around comes around…"

"Huh?"

He grinned, "Don't worry darling… I know I don't make sense sometimes… but tell me again, how did he save you?"

"When we met last year. In Edonia. I was running away from a dead-alive creature when I stumbled… thank god he was there and killed the creature! I never thought the dead could get back to life!"

"Oh dear, they can! They surely can…"

"You don't seem surprised…Have you heard of those creatures he fights? The zombie-like or something?"

"Yes darling I did…I've lived long enough to have heard and faced all the weird things…" the old man sat by her side, "and that reminds me of a tale… the tale of that woman…" he said pointing out to the large portraits of Katarina and Angelique

"Which woman?" Angelina asked

* * *

 **Thank you Pin for the review! :D**

 **Well, well, well... so many mysteries, especially when Mr. Lionel is around huh! You'll have to be patient until he reveals it all! mauahuaha xD**

 **Christopher and Angelique finally met after twelve years, but nothing like they could've had imagine how it would be... They're close, but still so far...**

 **And Katarina seems to have a one hell of intuition. She senses danger in miles! xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	37. Red Fury

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _There is certainly nothing more important in life than what we do at the present moment. A person's entire life consists of nothing more than one moment piled on top of another, over and over again. Once enlightened to this, the warrior has nothing else to worry about, because he realizes that he has only to live in the present moment with the utmost intensity."_

* * *

 **Talbot's Manor**

"My love, why didn't you tell us before about your pregnancy?"

"I wasn't sure…"

He caressed her belly, "You scared the hell out of us, little one! Yet, daddy loves you immensely already and I can't hardly wait to meet your pretty face" he spoke warmly

Angelique smiled at his gesture. Even after two pregnancies, she failed recognizing the symptoms of a new pregnancy. An unplanned pregnancy at that stage of her life. The second child she'd have with George. He was a good father and a good husband.

Husband? She had doubts of that since the day she and Pierce had a conversation about her current status. Despite the danger of be considered a criminal for living with a different name, Angelique became aware that her married status to Christopher was still valid as their divorce was justified under her death.

She was pretty much alive. Legally she still was Angelique Stafford.

Legally she was still Angelique Reed Stafford.

She hated not knowing how to classify her relationship with George, but she chose the omission in order of everyone's safety.

After twelve years apart, she learned how to live without Christopher, and enjoyed George's presence at her side for everything.

She wondered that was the same case for Christopher and Katarina, who had been together even before she stumbled into his life fourteen years ago.

Plus, she was aware that he loved Katarina as wife. She heard it loudly. She had seen them together in public and how proud he looked with the stunning brunette at his side, or the occasions they appeared in public as a family with all their four children.

Twelve years was too long to consider a "reconciliation". Too many people and children were involved.

The kingdom would be affected too.

And she hated causing trouble in anyone's life!

So she remained in silence and living her usual routine as a Talbot. Now with a new heir on the way.

And Christopher on the way too…

And Olly uniting them forever.

Now after that shocking encounter, she couldn't keep running away and felt the obligation to solve their situation amicably so they can resume their routines at the side of the people they chose and built a family.

Oliver should be the only valid bond between them and the last remain of their beautiful and unexpected story.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, Royal Bedchambers**

"Your majesty. Her Royal Highness Katarina Reed O'Gregon just arrived in the castle and wants to see you. May I let her in?"

"Katarina…What in the world does she want here?" the convalescent sovereign of Bohma frowned thoughtful, "Is she alone?"

"Yes"

"Where's Christopher?"

"Making the usual rounds"

"Have they talked?"

"Not yet your majesty. He doesn't know she returned to Bohma"

"Who's watching for Edonia?"

The personal advisor of Charles shrugged not knowing the answer

"Tell Christopher to return to Edonia. I cannot allow there staying so vulnerable as all the three imposing figures have returned to town"

"As you wish your majesty… and what about Katarina? Shall I let her in?"

The sovereign inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, "Yes"

The royal man sat up in the bed and rested his back on the pillows on the headboard, and took a sip of wine from the glass on the bedside table as he waited the ambitious brunette make her way in.

The strong footsteps on the floor from her high heels were a remarkable trait of hers. Her imposing figure in the long red silk gown full of ornaments and fancy jewels, and the red crown at the top of her head combined with her elegancy and imposing posture, and always so feminine, not to mention her remarkable cologne always reminded him of who he had lost for not had married her.

Her gaze always so strong and defiant made him sure that that woman was born with the sovereign mannerisms.

Her distinct beauty, unaffected by the aging combined with the maturity she gained from time, still affected him and that made her so unique.

Christopher Reed was definitely a lucky man, and also a strong one and not just in the battlefield. Dealing with a volcano like Katarina O'Gregon was not for any mere mortal. He envied his man of trust.

"Charles…"

Her gracious voice with her usual strong French accent caused him shivers, "Kat…"

"It breaks my heart seeing you so…so weakened"

"Only the illness to break down a man like me…a king"

"It is unfortunate seeing such a king so down…You should have had told me about your so delicate condition before. I hate feeling like I am paying a goodbye visit… especially for such a good friend of mine!" she spoke sitting at the bedside and took his grip, never losing eye contact

"You know I don't like breaking your bubble. You have done such a good work for both kingdoms that I didn't think I had the right to get you more concerned with a lost case like me…"

"You are not a lost case! You are a king! A brave man! And such a good man…You do not deserve such fate…"

"The doctors have done all they could… there are days I feel a bit better and others I ask for death to come right away"

"That would be so unfair and the most brutal thing you could have done to me if you died without letting me say goodbye to my old friend!"

"You don't deserve seeing me crappy…"

"I decide what I deserve"

"It has always been like that, isn't it?"

She grinned, "No one else better than me know what is best for me and what I deserve!"

"I never disagreed with that"

"Yes, and that proves that you and I always had a special connection. We overcame the odds and we have become a good team!"

"Yes, and Christopher had his participation too"

"I only choose the best of the best! He is no exception!" she spoke with a large proud smile as she stood up and walked in the direction of the wine bottle on the bedside table and took a glass for her

"And how are things between you two?"

She grinned as she walked, "Everything is great. We live in eternal honey-moon!"

"Ugh, I hate when you say that!"

She laughed as she took a sip of the liquid, "You asked…"

He made a face, "I didn't ask about that…"

She giggled, "Forgive me… sometimes I fail separating that content…"

"This is the only thing I don't like about him… he has the only thing I can't have…even being a king..."

She laughed with a shrug and spoke with a mock, "Sorry…"

He gave a shrug, "But I asked that only because I wondered why he and Pierce left you alone in Edonia…"

She made her typical Mona Lisa smile, "Wherever Christopher goes, Pierce goes along!"

The sovereign laughed, "That's indeed true!"

She moved the bottle. It was empty, "I need to leave you alone for a minute…"

"Why? Going after Christopher already?"

She laughed, "No. We need more wine!"

"Just ask the servants to bring more"

"No… I prefer choosing it myself. I will not take too long…"

Katarina headed to the wine house and picked the first wine bottle she saw. From inside her cleavage she took a small glass bottle and emptied the content into the wine bottle after checking the surroundings that no one would catch her. She stirred a little and returned to the royal chambers.

Charles had his eyes closed, a sudden wave of tiredness hit him.

Katarina not willing to disturb him, she left the bottle on the bedside table and left the chambers.

* * *

 **Northman Palace, Bohma  
**

Christopher learned that Pierce had returned to Bohma and he spent his time with his family. Remembering the second in command had demonstrated to want to talk to him, he decided to pay the duke a visit.

The men were sitting in the veranda.

"Did you tell Elizabeth about…?"

"No…I still couldn't do that. It was a mistake and that won't ever happen again!"

"I'm sorry for putting you in such situation… I guess I wasn't thinking straight with the whole Angelique thing… my mind entered in a desperate mode to find her and wrongly needed to find a reason to mistrust Katarina, lower her from the pedestal she so much fought for and then I could put Angelique back in that pedestal…"

"Well… you got your evidence… she has a divided heart like you…"

"And you..."

Pierce shook his head in denial, "No…I did have a divided heart in the initial years of my marriage to Eliza. When I saw you, with other women and Kat so left alone and in that poor emotional condition made me have doubts if I had done the "right" thing in marrying her sister…I wanted to save her from you and I always had in mind that she had lost a devoted man like me.  
But then I realized she hadn't been good to me. She didn't deserve me, my devotion. She always knew I had feelings for her and she took me as just a replacement. I was sure of that when you two got along and Lilly was born. You were so proud and happy, she was thrilled and you finally became an official couple.  
While me…more and more I infatuated with Eliza's kindness, patience and devotion. The struggles we faced together as a couple made my love for her so strong that I had finally realized what I felt for Kat wasn't true love, but lust… that type of lust that is pure libido…and a libido that was only awakened when she touched me…"

"I know…I understand…"

"I don't love her Christopher. I don't see us together anymore and I admit that I feel better now without her. I love Elizabeth, the mother of my children and the true woman of my life! I don't want to lose that!"

Christopher nodded in agreement "Once again, I'm sorry for making you risk all that…"

Pierce nodded once and let out a sigh, "No…it's me who have to ask your forgiveness…" he said distantly as he gained courage to clear his conscience

"Forgive you for what?"

"Chris…there's something you should know…"

"So tell me"

He licked his lips and swallowed in distress, still hesitant.

"Just say it Pierce"

"Before I say it, I need you to believe that I never had the intention to hurt you nor anyone…At that time I believed that the decision I made was for the best for…everyone…but like I said before, there was a time I prioritized Kat's happiness with you…"

"What are you talking about?"

Pierce inhaled, "Angelique…"

Christopher frowned, "What about her?"

The second in command looked away. His hands in cold sweat, "She…"

"She's still alive" Christopher completed his sentence sharply

Pierce looked to the side in surprise with his superior's tone.

"I know she's still alive…I searched and found her…very much alive and…happy…" he nearly spoke with a mock

Pierce frowned processing the news

"She's 'married' to George Talbot, Olly is my son and she's pregnant of that marquees again… She has a happy family…Lady Talbot…"

"So you know the truth…"

Christopher nodded, "Yes…she has conveniently lived a lie. The Talbot's embraced her lie, George lied to my face so many times about Oliver's fatherhood… they're accomplices and they deserve each other! My only concern is Olly. He knows I'm his true father, but there's nothing I can really do for him as the Talbot registered him in his name…the only way I could fix that was by causing a big scandal and revealing their lie…so technically I have become their accomplice too and for now I'll keep things that way… for everyone's safety"

Pierce noticed Christopher seemed to be oblivious to Katarina's involvement in the story. From Christopher's words, he could assume that Angelique had omitted the part of Katarina as well.

Having a second thought after listening to the legal issues the whole truth could bring, he thought it was best to keep things that way just like Christopher had decided. The original Reed couple seemed to have demonstrated not to reconcile and somehow that was good. Bohma and Edonia were passing by a delicate situation with the illness of Charles, despite his wishes to pass the regencies to them, they knew that decision wasn't entirely defined.

Avoiding a scandal was a reasonable decision.

"So what were you saying about Angelique?"

"What you already know…"

"Was that the subject you wanted to talk about in the letter?"

"Hum…Pretty much…"

"I see… actually I still need to talk to her. We didn't have much time for a decent conversation, whether she like it or not, we have a permanent subject to keep the contact…"

"Olly!"

"Yes, and also we need to define our marital situation… as you may know, legally we're still married…"

"Right! But do you still consider a reconciliation with her?"

Christopher inhaled heavily and let out a long sigh, "I don't know…She treated me coldly and I saw her new life, she's pregnant again and I like Kat… I enjoy the life and family we built… Angely still has a very special part of my heart, but…we have so much to lose…the children… Too many people would get hurt…"

"And Katarina wouldn't accept that well"

"No she wouldn't! She'd get very pissed and the last thing I want is to piss her off"

"Agreed…"

"The truth is…if I had learned that until a decade ago, I wouldn't have any doubts to separate from Kat and get back together with Angely… but a lot happened in ten years and we have learned to live separately…and learned to love other people…"

Pierce looked down…A decade ago he prevented that to happen.

"Chris…"

The man looked at him

"I…I met Angelique ten years ago…"

"You what?" the man snapped

"But I didn't know she was your Angelique… she didn't tell me her name. She came to the castle looking for you, but I assumed she was one of your mistress of that time…I had recently knew Kat was pregnant with your child and you were starting your couple life… So I didn't ask further questions. I had only informed her that you had been relocated. She didn't ask to where or anything else, so I thought she wasn't the actual Angelique…"

"And only now you tell me that?"

"It's like I told you…I didn't make the connections…"

"You didn't have to make any connections. I was the one to make the connections!" Christopher stood up from the chair annoyed

"I'm sorry…I…"

"That's why you were asking my forgiveness! You just didn't count I'd break the news first!"

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone…"

"Not anyone, but Katarina!" Christopher shouted, "You knew how I missed my real wife! But no… you prioritized Katarina's happiness above anyone else's!"

"That was my mistake! I admit that! And I wish I could go back in time and makes things differently!"

"And then you want me to believe you don't love Katarina anymore?"

"I don't! Because if I could go back in time and tell Angelique where to find you or at least to tell you about the redhead's visit and let you assume who she could be!  
And honestly, I was happy when Katarina almost couldn't marry you! When you broke the news that you were already legally married! And then I thought his wife doesn't seem so meaningful because you even slept with Kat and everyone saw that! You even admitted to me that she went south on you and I thought what would stop him to do everything else! If his love for Angelique was so big, he wouldn't have let that happen… So sometime later I saw the redhead but I didn't make the connection... and I was so wrong for not had done that! I was so wrong about Katarina and her power of persuasion! Today I understand what you passed that night! Now I know what it feels like to love someone else and struggle with Kat's touch and her persuasion in convincing a man's libido! She even managed to make you love her back!  
So today I wish I could go back in time to make things right!And I wouldn't want to go back ten years, but twelve! I wish I could go back to the day in the Peasant's Village and not to have dragged you back to court! Because at that exact time I chose duty above my wishes. I knew I'd lose Katarina the moment you stepped back and all of this wouldn't be happening.  
I have made bad decisions and I wish I could have the power to know the future so I could make wiser decisions! However, in the other hand…if I had done all that, what would've had been of our lives? Would I be capable of walking in your shoes? Would we be who we are today? Would Kat let you be happy with Angelique? And this seems to be the only answer I have correctly, that in both ways, Kat would always be around using her persuasion…  
I'm sorry to tell you this but you like to think you'd never cheat on Angelique, but you did! You still didn't have the confirmation of her "death" when you let Kat do her thing on you… So what makes you think that you'd never cede to her persuasion even if I had done the "right" decisions?  
So once again, I'm sorry…I couldn't predict the future… I guess the dowser was right… And now that I know it all, I'm going to do my best to make wiser decisions based on rationality and not under my feelings ever again!"

Christopher remained contemplative. No matter how hard it was to listen to Pierce's words. He said no lie.  
He ceded to Katarina even before his world was crushed by lie of the Stafford's.

One thing Pierce was right, Angelique chose not to ask where to find him even knowing he had been waiting for her.

It wasn't Pierce's entire fault for his separation from Angelique.

Maybe their love wasn't just strong enough to battle the adversities together, as one.

Something he had only learned in all those years at the side of the smart brunette.

Angelique was pure, sweet and kind, but she lacked confidence.

That was the biggest difference between the two women who had his heart.

"You're forgiven Pierce…I don't have any right to judge you after all this long…"

"I just want you to believe that I had no bad intentions…"

"I know…I know you're a loyal man and true friend…I could never quest that about you."

"I know it must not have been easy for you to learn that and there's more you still don't know…"

"It hasn't been easy at all, just like I imagine it hasn't been easy for you to keep in silence all this long…"

Pierce nodded in agreement

"I know there are things I need to know, and those things is up to Angelique to tell me…"

"But I…"

Christopher checked his pocket watch, "It's getting late. We need to go back to the castle. Charles needs your signature"

"Alright…" Pierce sighed with resignation. He had told most of the things he knew. Yet, he wasn't still ready to say it all. More and more he mistrusted Katarina and to continue his investigation in her involvement with the Walker's. He thought it was better not to tell the second half of the letter Angelique's father wrote when he mentioned Katarina's name in their conspiracy.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

Katarina was searching for Christopher everywhere in the castle. The servants only knew he had gone to make the rounds. Her husband seemed to be in nowhere to be found.

And that made her jealousy mind to think the worst of him, wondering he might have been with Lady White.

With hurried footsteps, she decided to check the chambers in wonder to catch them in action. Knights chambers, art gallery and nothing. She headed to the library, a place that was in a more isolated area and a perfect place for privacy.

The door was partially open, and she could hear voices coming from inside. She placed her ear behind the door and remained in silence listening to the conversation after recognizing the bitch's voice.

"So that happened in his bedchambers?" a female questioned

"Yes. He was acting weird that week, so he didn't bother me entering his chambers…"

"Do you know why?"

Cathlyn gasped, "Christopher's problem have only one name…"

"Katarina?"

"Yes. She suffocates him"

"I will suffocate you bitch!" Katarina thought. Her blood was boiling, but she kept her silence and continued listening to them.

"Did he tell you that?"

"Yes, he once mentioned something on the matter a while ago… the truth is that she's an insecure bitch. She needs to constantly reassure in public her domain over him in attempt to keep female threats away from him…But a woman only does that when she's not secure that her man loves her, isn't it? So she keeps him in a tight leash because she knows his love for her is null when away from her…"

Katarina squeezed her hands and bit her lips. She held her breathe as her body trembled in anger. She was in the verge to lose her composure.

"Still he always comes back to her…"

"To keep the appearance…Ah and for the children. He doesn't want them to go through a scandal…"

"I see…and what happened after that? Did you talk to him?"

"Yes. For some reason he's still in town and acting weird…yet, he came after me to apologize and reconcile."

"So you're back together?"

Paaffff.

The women turned to the side in scare after hearing the loud noise of the door opening abruptly and the infuriated red demon coming their way.

Pushing away fiercely the female companion who fell to the ground, Katarina's attention dragged to the paralyzed mistress. Without any mercy, Katarina pushed her roughly to the ground and straddled her. Raising her hand up and loading all her accumulated anger into the palm of her hand, merciless she slapped the woman's face beneath her who turned her face to the side with the impact. With her right hand, with her left hand. With her right hand, with her left hand consecutively.

Staking her fingers onto the woman's hair and pulling her head with both her hands, Katarina raised the woman's head up and beat it against the ground a few times.

The female companion screamed in despair calling for help. Cathlyn screamed in pain.

"You damn bitch. Stay away from MY husband!"

The other female ran through the corridors screaming for help, "Somebody help! She's going to kill her! Somebody help!"

Cathlyn tried to protect her from the Katarina's infuriated attacks. Her face burned with the attacks of her hands, of her nails on her head. She tried to push the woman in bloody red fury away from her, but Katarina sat on her in a way she couldn't move her legs. She tried to scratch her, but the long sleeves protected the demon's skin.

Consumed by the fatal jealousy, Katarina cupped the woman's neck with her bare hands.

Cathlyn tried to react and raised her hands up to reach the upper woman's neck as well, but Katarina's pressure was stronger and all she could do was to remove Katarina's necklace and scratch her collarbone before her arms weakened and she was not being capable to breathe properly.

The women's hatred gaze met.

"Who is the insecure now?"

Cathlyn's vision started to darken. Her arms fell abruptly on the ground.

"You want a husband? I will send you to yours!"

"Katarina!" a rough male voice screamed

She released her hands off the woman's neck

"Let go of her!"

Katarina's breathe chocked as she felt the man grabbing her abruptly off the duchess. Other guards gave aid to the convalescent woman who slowly regained her forces.

The guard removed Katarina from the library while she recomposed herself. At the hall, Katarina pulled herself off him, "Let me go!" she yelled in annoyance

"I shall inform this incident to the representative sovereign"

"The whore is alive. Case is closed!" she protested

"You two have bruises"

"It was just a cat fight! That will not happen again!"

"I still need to inform the representative. It's my obligation"

Katarina inhaled and let out a long heavy sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Your majesty! Your grace!" the man bowed to the imposing men standing next to them.

Katarina turned around, disguising her surprise in the sudden presence of Christopher and Pierce.

Noticing the scratches on Katarina's collarbone and the bruises on her neck, and seeing Lady White being aided walking in the corridor, Christopher frowned, "What happened here?"

"Your majesty…Your wife attacked Lady White. For little she didn't strangled her."

"You did what?" Christopher gasped in shock

"She started it… I was just protecting myself" Katarina spoke coldly

"Liar!" Cathlyn protested, and coughed

"Admit you started it all, witch! You were cursing me, calling me names! You should respect me as your superior and my marriage!"

"You broke into the library!"

"The library is a public location! Anyone could have had entered and listened to you talking badly about me! It just happened it was me who listened to it directly! You were defaming me!"

"You were peeping us! You almost killed me!"

"How dare you! You want me to lie before God or everybody and admit I was simply peeping, well I was not! You want me to creep away and keep in silence your dirtiness? Well I shall not! Not in a thousand years. Not if you rack me to within an inch of my life. I am Katarina Reed O'Gregon; I am the representative sovereign of Edonia, Christopher's one true wife and mother of the heirs to the thrones, grand duchess of Bohma and beloved of the people, and beloved of a sovereign you have tried to bewitch with your cheap seduction game! I will not give my husband to you nor to anyone! I will always fight any whore who attempts to destroy my marriage; it is my right as a loyal wife and mother! As a lion who protects their territory!" she shouted

Katarina's voice echoed through the corridors of the castle keeping everyone obediently in silence for eternal seconds. She was not a woman to apologize for her actions; even less for the actions, she believed she was right.

Christopher remained serious, contemplative. A side of him did like Katarina's strength in defending them before everyone. She had a strong personality that matched his own stubbornness. She might not have been the most faithful wife recently, but her devotion to them all those years had more weight to prove her loyalty to their alliance.

He was aware he had been the unfaithful part in their story. He couldn't judge her and didn't even feel like rebuking her. Not in public. He was aware of the bruises on both women and was sure Cathlyn had lost the fight.

"Lady White, you're expelled from the court. You shall return to your land in Arthena."

"Christopher, she almost strangled me!"

"She's your queen. You owe her obedience and respect. You provoked a legal sovereign and the law of Bohma is clear about the harsh punishments in such accusations. You're spared because of my respect and affection for you. You're advised not to do so again. You will not be shown the same clemency a second time."

Cathlyn White didn't protest. Christopher was the new legal king and he had made his decision. He stood beside his queen. He stood beside his own interests. She had lost him to the dissimulated brunette. He chose the evil brunette.

Katarina kept her composure and serious demeanor, but inside she was laughing victoriously.

Did she hear correctly? A queen?

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

"The tests with the animals have turned out to be a success! The parasite is effective." William commented

"Great! We need human volunteers to test it out!"

"Human volunteers?"

"Of course! We need to test the power of the parasite on humans and control their rebellion"

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"By presenting them a god! People are like sheep. They need a leader to blindly follow. The stronger the leader, the more followers he obtains!"

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"I do"

"Who?"

"Christopher Reed…"

"Christopher Reed? I thought you were going to say Katarina"

Albert laughed with mischief and gasped, "She's the second in mind because I'm already testing her for something else…"

William made a thoughtful face, "Will you continue providing her the herb?"

"I will! She's providing us a good profitability. We still need her…"

"And if that doesn't work with him?"

"Then we have other options… such as Katarina herself. Her love for Christopher makes her weak. She hides herself behind him and certainly, I want to test her rebellion when he's gone…and when he's gone we can test both subjects in the same experiment. The power of the herb and the power of the parasite!" the man spoke mischievously

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **Stay tuned!**


	38. Troubled

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

 **BSAA HQ, Chris's Cabin**

"I can't believe she was going to be your new secretary…"

Chris ignored his girlfriend's comment while he made himself comfortable on his chair and turned on the computer.

"You don't seem surprised" she exclaimed sitting on the chair before his desk

"Why should I be surprised?"

The woman gasped, "You knew that already…and you didn't tell me…"

"Kate is an employee just like everyone else…I don't see why I should reject her just because of your jealousy?"

"It's not just jealousy! There's something about her… and I can feel she's not who you think she is…just an employee"

"Do you have proof of that?"

The woman rolled her eyes in disappointment, "You don't get it!"

"Cathy…this is work environment, keep yourself professional. I don't want any intrigues between the two of you. If you have any proof that Kate is not a good employee is one thing, but if you only judge her for something she does in her private life outside work, it's not really my business and much less yours! So you'd better get used to see Kate in front of my door for the next months and we talking occasionally about work because that's the only thing that matters to me and the only thing that connects me to her – work! Understood?"

The woman inhaled deeply and after some contemplation, she nodded in agreement, "I'd better got to work too. See you later?"

"When we go home…"

"Alright" she smiled faintly and walked over to him and kissed him goodbye

When she opened the door, the side of her eye caught the young brunette working in the computer as if ignoring her as well.

She closed the door and inhaled. Passing by the desk, she turned her face to look at the sitting woman who did the same and only turned her eyes to stare back the jealousy agent.

Cathy felt a sudden pressure around her neck, probably caused by the words she had kept in her mouth. Words of warning for the young whore to stay away from her man!

Yet, no words were needed. Both women knew the other's thoughts.

As the jealousy agent walked away in annoyed steps, Katerina looked at the computer screen, trying to disguise her cynic smile.

Moments later, she stood up, knocked the door, and waited for the permission enter.

(*)

"Get in" Chris yelled as he typed his password in the computer's system. Watching the door open, "Ah, it's you Kate" he said with a sort of relief after thinking it could be Cathy

"Excuse me, sir" she said with a brief smile

He watched the young brunette and her gracious demeanor as she walked over his desk, "Is there any message for me?"

"No… I've been waiting to know how you like it"

"I like what?"

"How do you want me to do it…How to serve you…"

Chris made a face a bit confused

"The work…Instructions sir! Is there anything in particular you like about my skills in serving you properly?!"

"Ahh…" he laughed, "Ah, well…I like punctuality, first of all"

She laughed briefly, "Of course…I'm sorry about that. It won't happen again"

"Yeah… I like to know what awaits me when I come to the office and I keep myself always reachable when I'm in the HQ through the phone, so if you need my presence or let anyone where to find me, you can text me or call me."

"Understood. Anything else?"

He made a face contemplating, "I don't think so…but I have some questions for you. Please, take a seat" he said waving

"Alright…" she sat before him and crossed her legs

A vision that didn't escape him, but he disguised he didn't see her apparent bald south and pretended not to see her beautiful toned legs.

"You currently studying cosmetic management, right?"

"Yes I am. Last semester"

"Last semester…if I'm correct, usually the last semesters tend to be more demanding because of the thesis and internships to get the degree. How do you intend to conciliate your education and work?"

"It's an online course. I just need to login in whatever free time I have"

"Oh... I wish I had that option back in my days…" he laughed

"Come on, you talk as if it had been a very long time ago, as if you're a very old man… you're not that old, you look great!"

He laughed somewhat embarrassed, "Thank you for not finding me that old! But uhm…But it's true. When I graduated, I didn't have that online option. I had to divide myself in two for work and for school and that's cool technology has definitely changed that in a good way"

"True… I didn't know you had graduated… when did that happen?"

"When I was still in the air force. I finished high school when I was 17 and immediately I joined the military then I decided I wanted to have a graduation degree to get higher positions in my career."

"Did you always know you'd want to pursuit the military career?"

"Honestly? Not really! It more out of necessity than a real dream… but the moment I stepped in I wanted to be the best I could and give my all. So I never stopped studying. I did intern courses and learned a bit of everything. Specialized in the areas I really enjoyed."

"And in what did you graduate?"

"Engineering"

She made an overwhelmed expression, "Wow! That's a tough one! But I guess it suits you"

He grinned, "Yeah, it suited me very well in the military life…and it still serves very well actually"

She smiled, "I can see that. Your passion to be the best on field which is something I admire and so many others…"

"A passion I see in you too. I noticed you give your best in your tasks"

She smiled softly, "Thank you. I'm flattered to know someone like you noticed these qualities in me and has given me the opportunity to improve"

He smiled back, "Everyone deserves a chance"

"Thank you again!"

"You're welcome"

"By the way, there's something else I'd like to ask you"

"Sure!"

"As you know, I don't have a fixed time to leave work and you as my personal assistant will have often days that you'll have to stay longer, and as you depend on public transport and usually it's already late and dark…do you think it could be an obstacle for your studies or…?"

"Honestly I count on those extra hours, sir!"

"You do?"

"I do! Being in my last semester in college, there are extra expenses to conclude the course. My new current salary combined with the extra hours will guarantee that… and about being dark when we leave, that's the risk I'm ready to take. All opportunities have a dark side…and the self-defense course I took might be helpful…but I hope not!"

Chris inhaled, studying the girl's determination, "You don't have to worry about that… I forgot to mention that you'll have extra help for transportation if you need a cab and that won't be deducted from your salary. It's on us."

She smiled large, "Really?"

He nodded in confirmation, "Really!"

"Well, now I don't see any dark side besides dealing with the jealousy of your girlf…" immediately she covered her mouth, in embarrassment, "I'm sorry! I…I shouldn't have said that…" she spoke apologetic

He made a face, obviously he didn't like her inconvenient comment, yet, a truth.

"Now you're going to fire me…"

"Uhmm, not really…"

"No?"

"No. Actually that's another topic I wanted to talk to you"

"Okay…"

He let out a sigh, looking up as if thinking the right way and words to discuss the matter. He somewhat hoped Katerina hadn't noticed Cathy's behavior, but unfortunately, or fortunately…he didn't know yet the right answer…Katerina had noticed it and somehow it made easier for him to discuss the delicate subject.

"I liked that you respected her presence in my office, exactly in your first day in the job before I could instruct you in the things I like and need you to obey…"

She nodded listening attentively

"I already discussed with her your role in the organization and more specifically as my personal assistant… so I hope you two keep a respectful and a professional composure while inside the organization"

"Absolutely!"

* * *

 **BSAA Women's Restroom, A couple of weeks later**

Cathy White had finished using the bathroom when she heard someone entering. She flushed the toilet and opened the cabin's door. She inhaled deeply and let out a heavy sign at the sight of the young secretary retouching her makeup.

The young brunette didn't disguise looking back at her through the mirror reflection.

Katerina passed the red lipstick while Cathy washed her hands. Both women exchanged hatred gazes from time to time.

Cathy walked to the hand drier and looked once again at the mirror.

A cynical smile formed on the young girl's face.

Cathy let out an annoyed sigh and left the bathroom in quick steps.

"Loser…" Katerina spoke in an audible tone for the other woman listen as she passed behind her

"Did you say something?"

"Do you want me to repeat it?"

Cathy let out an annoyed sigh and turned to face the younger employee, "What's your problem, girl?"

"I don't have any problem…don't know about you…" Katerina replied with a cynical shrug

"You're a problem!"

"If you say so…"

"I do say so! Your type doesn't fool me"

Kate lifted an eyebrow, "My type?"

"the slutty type"

Katerina laughed loud, "Ah, so that's your real problem? Dissatisfaction! I'm shocked to know from you that the great captain is not that great in the other field…" she spoke with sarcasm

"I can see how badly you want to know how great he is!"

Katerina rolled her eyes and kept her makeup into the necessaire and threatened to leave, "I shouldn't waste my beautiful time with losers like you. He told me that!"

Cathy blocked her way, "I won't waste any more time with you either, but I'll give you a warning… Stay away from my man!"

Katerina smiled with sarcasm, "Not gonna happen…I work with him!"

"Let's see for how long!"

"That's what I call high-esteem… only because the captain and founder of the organization is fucking the silly, boring and bland agent, the loser thinks she has some prestige against me!"

"What are you doing here after all Katerina? You don't have the profile to be in this place!"

"As far as I know, I'm a secretary and Chris Redfield's personal assistant..."

"You're exactly where you planned to be to confront me, to steal everything that is mine, my boyfriend, my peace, everything!"

Katerina's silence sounded like confirmation to the agent. "But you don't seem to know what I'm capable of yet."

"Let me guess... Could you slander me? To do anything to make me destitute of my new or any other position in the BSAA? Am I right?"

"You planned it all! It's all about this devilish plot, it's all about making everyone a puppet, everything to provoke me to see me doing what I've never done!"

"You're jealous because you see me as your rival. You know I am young, beautiful, childless, without commitment and I could provide so much pleasure to him! I'm funny! Joyful! Free! Everything that would not bore him! You know I can make him fall for me! While you'll be at home or away from him, I will always be there with him. Serving him, in that cabin! When it's late at night or when he wants me to be with him in there or anywhere, just the two of us, alone... the building will be practically empty and while you're going to martyr yourself imagining a thousand things about us and/or even calling him constantly and not always he will answer you. That will push your nerves wondering what we could be doing so he won't be answering your phone calls…The truth is that I could even seduce your boyfriend." Katerina coughed in disdain saying that word, "I could also be here just waiting for your separation, and then, in this case, I might one day become Chris's girlfriend Redfield, and even Mrs. Redfield... But I don't do any of that, I could, but I didn't do it. Yet… I just need to make just one move for him to notice me! And that drives you crazy... because he protects me, I'm the fragile party... and you? The annoying, insecure and boring girlfriend!"

"You are one of those who grows at the expense of the men you take to bed! Your only power is this!"

Katerina laughed cynically, "A power that drives you from the axes!"

"I know you want him!"

She laughed wryly, "Not really! I never wanted him. He's not even my type..."

"Liar! He's your type! For you to grow in life! Gold digger!"

"The only gold digger here is you who keeps on parading and thinking you're the best just because you "give" to him and everyone knows!"

"We love each other!"

"Hahahaha, what love is this? If he loves you so much, you'd be sure he would resist my charms!"

"Charms? You're a player! You use men at your leisure and you want to use him! And I will not let that happen! He doesn't need to suffer in your hands because he has gone through a lot to be suffering because of a bitch!"

"Ahhh the defendant of Bear Redfield! He is already big boy! He doesn't need a mommy to take the pains for him! He knows how to defend himself!"

"I'll give it to your face!" Cathy rose her hand

"I'm going to give it to him just to make you even angrier and show him you're not woman for him! And prove to him that he's going to be happy with me!"

"Ahh, the truth if finally showing out huh! You never fooled me!"

"Neither did you!"

Cathy tried to remain calm, and threatened to leave, but in a fit of fury, she returned and stick on the neck of the enemy. "I'm going to end your race, bitch!"

"Help, this woman is crazy!" Katerina yelled pushing the woman away

Cathy regained her control and let go of the brunette's neck before anyone could witness them.

Soon after, some agents entered the restroom and found Katerina catching her breathe.

* * *

 **Chris's Cabin**

Chris couldn't disguise his upset expression. His reputation was being threated after his girlfriend's explosion. He couldn't disguise how disappointed he was. While the woman was clearly ashamed for her misbehavior.

"Why the hell did you do that Cathy? Attacking a coworker? I can't believe you did that to Kate!"

"I lost my mind Chris…I'm very sorry. I don't know what happened to me…All I know we were arguing and…I lost my temper…I tried to hold myself but…she knows how to disturb me…"

"You know the policies in this case!"

"I know…and I'm ready to accept it"

"I warned you to keep a respectful and professional posture while inside the organization! I won't warn you twice otherwise I'll request your relocation!"

"My relocation? She provokes me and I'm the one to be relocated?"

"You're the one who attacked her!"

"She insulted me!"

"Yet you crossed the physical line! You're an agent! You're supposed to keep your nerves under control! You just put your career in check!"

"I'm an agent, but I'm also a woman! I'm your girlfriend! I couldn't let her continue saying nasty things about you! About me!"

"Cathy…Kate is young! Impulsive! I noticed the way you act around her… you provoke her…"

"I can't believe you're defending her just because of her age! Are you sleeping with her or something?"

"You again saying that! No! Of course not!"

"So why do you protect her so much? Why can't you consider I'm not entirely wrong and believe me that she also provoked me?"

"I'm not protecting her!"

"You always protect her!"

"You always overreact about her!"

"So it's because of Piers… You take her side because of your pupil?"

"Geez, Cathy! I never said she's completely innocent! She will be punished too! But differently of you she has proof against you! So I'm telling you as superior coworker and someone who cares deeply about you, if you ever attack her again or anyone else here or outside, be ready for the real punishment! I don't want girls fighting over me! And I tell you that now as your boyfriend!"

"But that's what she's going to do…"

"Ignore her! Forget she exists!"

"How can I ignore her and forget her existence when she's always there in front of your door, or even in here with you until late of the night?"

"Deal with it! she's my assistant and she's very helpful in all the paperwork accumulated I need to work on...It's all about work and Only work!"

"You give her rides!"

"Of course I'll give her a ride home! I won' let her wait a bus alone late at night! Geez!"

"She can take a cab!"

"Yeah I agree she can take a cab, but I don't see anything wrong in giving her a ride if I'm driving to the same path? It's one less expense in the organization's budget…"

"The organization's budget…how about my patience's budget?"

He inhaled deeply, "I'll stop giving her rides then… but why can't you believe that I'm not into Kate!"

"It's not only the rides… but it's because you're changing…"

"I'm changing… Of course, I'm changing… You're changed too, but I'm growing tired of all the drama you start because of her! I thought you'd understand my job, understand me and take in account my sincerity but you don't even seem to be considerate about my honesty whenever I give her rides, I don't act behind your back… But it doesn't seem to be enough!"

"So what now, Christopher?"

"I don't know Cath…I feel like being forced to rethink things about us…"

"Are you considering breaking up with me just because of her?"

He shook his head in denial, "Not because of her, but because of your actions. I don't want to live a hell of a relationship just because of your jealousy! Now you see Kate as my lover and wish me to fire her, and then what guarantee I'd have you wouldn't find another 'lover' to me? I confess I never expected such action coming from you! I'm very disappointed!"

"So am I Chris! You should know better I'm not like that. I've never being this way, you call it jealousy, but what I feel is not jealousy… I don't like her. I never liked her. I know and I feel something about her that makes me mistrust her, but you're too blind to see that and it hurts me when you stand up for her and acts against me… I don't know if I'm ready for another disillusion either… so before we end up hurting each other even more and before you get even more full of doubts and I lose my temper with her again…I guess it's better we end here."

"Cath…"

"I want to preserve the good memories of us, Chris. I want to preserve the respect we can have…"

"I didn't want things to be this way…"

"Me neither! But I don't see another way… my spirit doesn't match hers and knowing she'll stay longer here…I prefer stepping away before I lose my job and ruin our careers."

He looked down. Surely, he was saddened. When they met, and while their relationship lasted, he did believe he could give a try for a relationship. Something he didn't do in a long time. He even got to be hopeless about relationships. That's why he preferred the no attachment rule. But he was the one ending up to get attached to her. That was something he couldn't explain. He had never felt something so strong for someone before. And here is the result for investing in a relationship. For trying to be in a relationship.

He failed.

Despite being heart broken, he couldn't demonstrate how broken he felt. He was a man. He was at work. He had to move on…

The pain could wait the alcohol and the loneliness later. For now, he was just the saddened Chris Redfield. The soldier. The rock.

"Is this a forever a goodbye or just a break?" he asked with a visible saddened tone

The woman fought her tears. Disappointed. Heartbroken. She had the hope until the very last second before that answer, that he'd try to fight harder. For them. For their relationship. Although, he looked resigned. Saddened but resigned about their end. Her broken expectation. He chose Kate – _again_.

"Let's see…" her throat was dry

* * *

Katerina left the BSAA Headquarters very pissed. She walked in heavy footsteps until the bus stop. The anger consuming her.

She took a different line than the usual and headed to her best friend's place. She needed to vent.

"What are you doing here this time of the day?" her friend Lucy asked checking her watch

"I need someone to talk to…"

"Where's Piers?"

"No idea! Can I come in?" Katerina spoke annoyed as she passed by the girl

"Sure, you're already in…"

"Are you alone?"

"Yes. What happened? did you fight with Piers again?"

"No!"

"Chris?"

Katerina rolled her eyes, "His bitch!"

"Cathy?"

"Yeah…the one…"

"Why?"

"Because she's a bitch! I got tired of her teasing and then she confronted me in the bathroom, so I couldn't really help it…you know I can't stand her and it was just a matter of time until that'd happen, so it happened today!"

The other female made faces while she listened to her friend's statement. She couldn't believe her ears. Well, actually she could. She knew how temperamental Katerina could be at times, especially when provoked. The problem sometimes she did feel provoked for the smallest things and tended to react like a furious volcano. Moreover, she was surprised that Katerina didn't get to that level even after Cathy's aggression. She never saw that coming. Maybe Kate was maturing…

"And you're going to do that?"

"Of course not! How can you think I'm going to "give that" to Chris?! I told you he's not my type! Large on top... good is when is big down... but that's another story if I really wanted to give it to him... which is not the case!"

Her friend rolled her eyes, "So why did you say that to her that you'd sleep with him if you have no intention of doing it?"

"Just to make her angry."

"Are not you afraid she'll tell him and it will affect you at work?"

"She won't say that to him! She's an insecure bitch! And if she mentions I deny everything and I still say made it out because of her jealousy"

The friend, knowing Kate for a long time, couldn't help the opportunity to poke her and see her reaction, "What if he's big down?"

Katerina made a silence to think, "I do not think so... he takes things to grow to that size and those things diminish down there! And even if that was not the case... no way I could have sex with him! There's something about him that keeps me from wanting this... it's weird. A mixture of feelings that pisses me off..."

"I've seen this movie before..."

"And it was not me!" Katerina played the fool

"Oh, I'm not sure, huh! I remember very well that once a brunette girl and I talked about men and she said that she would never have sex with someone who she didn't have attraction and today, this same girl fucks a much older guy and she says she feels disgust for him despite giving it to him for so many years…"

"It's different! This much older guy is fucking rich! And he's not that ugly... Many other girls would give everything to be in my place! And he does not even think about losing me! Which is something that is bound to happen sooner or later!"

"Chris is not ugly either!"

"But he pisses me off!"

"Hahaha, he pisses you off so much that all you talk about when you get home from work is him, how much you admire him, how different he proved to be from your first impressions on him, blablabla..."  
"But I do admire him! As a hardworking person he is! But at the same time something about him pisses me off... I don't know what it is or how to explain that…"  
"It might be jealousy..."

"What? Me? Jealous of him? Are you crazy? Why would I be jealous of him?"

"Oh I don't know... maybe because you like him and don't want to admit it..."

"I don't like him! But after what that bitch did, I feel like giving it to him just to tease her for real!"

"Revenge?"

"Maybe… she said he's great… and I heard the same from other girls he did…probably he's not all that!"

"What if he is? You already changed your first impressions about him…"

"No way I'll open my legs to him! He's not my type! I'll figure a way to revenge what she did to me or I'm not Katerina!"

* * *

 **BSAA HQ, Following Morning**

 **Chris's Cabin**

Katerina entered the cabin somewhat surprised to see Chris so early at work. Earlier than the usual.

He was sitting on his chair, looking out the window. He was visibly distant. So distant that he didn't even notice her presence near the desk.

"Chris…" she called him

He turned quickly with a serious demeanor. He looked the time on the computer screen, "Why are you here so early?"

"I came to deliver you this"

"What is this?" Chris asked puzzled

"My resignation letter"

"Resignation letter?"

"I can't do this job anymore, Chris…not after what happened…"

"I understand Kate, but…Kate you're doing such a great job!"

"No buts Chris…I can't face your girlfriend after that…I don't want to cause any more trouble…"

"I know but… You need it…"

"Yeah I need the money but it's for a price I can't afford…"

"I won' accept that letter!"

"Alright, so I'll deliver it to your superior…"

"He won't accept it either"

"Why not?"

"Because it's not necessary and no price to be paid…"

"What do you mean?"

He let out a sigh, "You won't have to deal with agent White anymore…she has been relocated"

"What?"

"And in name of the organization and for myself, humidly I apologize for the trouble you've been through…You'll be compensated for the humiliation…"

Katerina could not believe her ears and the sorrowful expression on the man before her. Somehow that broke her heart after all the commotion created and all the stupidity she thought or even might have said during the heat of the fight made her feel bad and ashamed of herself. His saddened expression made her feel the worst thing and he didn't deserve that.

Despite his usual reserved emotional nature, he did seem to have opened up a bit more during those weeks they worked together. She noticed he could be a good guy. He surely was a good man and did treat his coworkers like family. She never thought how friendly he could be behind all that serious demeanor.

She felt really bad now. She didn't exactly regret her sincerity during the fight with Cathy. But she regretted the repercussion on that man. It wasn't about her, nor Cathy. It was about him.

And here he was, proving to be a considerate man after all…

Chris Redfield was granting her something she didn't truly feel she deserved.

"I don't want any compensation…" she whispered

Chris's lips parted, but he was unable to speak as she continued her statement.

"I've already been compensated in having a boss like you. No money is better than that."

"Thank you Kate, but you need it…"

"Financially I know I need it, but it feels like a dirty money and I can't accept that…thank you anyways…"

He made a face…"Alright…"

The twenty four year old girl and the thirty-eight-year-old man exchanged gazes and remained like that for two or three seconds before the awkwardness took over them and brought them back to reality after a weird wave of sensations cored through their bodies and weird feelings hit them. Their hearts raced inside their chests.

She played with her hands, "Well, gotta back to work, right!"

He cleared his throat, "Uhm, no…you can take the day off"

"You sure?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright, but if you need me for anything, just let me know!"

"Okay"

The young brunette turned around and quickly moved back, "Uhm…by the way…I'm sorry for your situation with your girlfriend…"

"Thanks, don't worry about me…"

Chris watched the young woman leave. He needed to stay alone. He needed to work alone. He wanted to stay alone.

Cathy was no longer at his side. Kate couldn't stay at his side. At least, not that day.

Loneliness was his company.

The alcohol his consolation at night.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **Sooo, a complete chapter only in the 21st! I didn't see it coming at all. However, they wanted to tell me their story, so I let them do it. I thought of cutting in some parts, but I had an afterthought and didn't think that would be that good because it's good to finish the arc at once.**

 **In this arc, we saw how Christopher and Cathlyn's story ended in the previous chapter and until their reunion in the 21st, I thought it would be a long wait as I haven't finished the 18th tale, so I thought that you could forget details or not even pay attention to what's really going on and how some situations in the 21st are directly connected to an event of the 18th. So I thought it was best to conclude it all here, at least, Cathlyn and Christopher's part and Chris and Cathy tale, although don't think this is the end of their tale in the 21st! This was just a move to make the pause in Chris and Kate's initial closeness in the 21st, because when I get entirely in the 21st, we will see the after that.**

 **So according to my plans, we won't see them in the same scene in the 21st in a considerate time from now.**

 **However... I also am considering of working in both centuries** **simultaneously so you won't have to wait longer to really know how the story will be different when the 21st really comes.**

 **We will see better how the past affected them and made who they are in the 21st, as Chris and Piers's personalities that we know, will be more evident, because I know Christopher and Pierce are quite different from the original characters of the game during the 18th, but it's that thing...they are different people in the previous life so that gives me more tools to build the triggers of their 21st personas.**

 ** **(and I must say my brain currently is more inspired to write 21st scenes than the 18th lol)****

 **Anyways...I think I'm babbling too much xD what matters is enjoying the story! xD**

 **Stay tuned!**


	39. Who The F Do You Think I Am?

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

The year…2011. A cold bright morning of Winter. The old man sat at in his bed with a contemplative expression. So many years had passed was bound to end very soon. A saddened sigh escaped his mouth. A mission that would end incomplete.

In his old hand, a small black bottle glass containing a single pill. The last one.

He kept it in hope to carry on his life in the expectation to conclude his mission and finally meet the eternal rest, but his old body seemed to succumb quickly to the side effects of his old age without the use of the pill. His body was giving up the struggle, to sustain the remaining little life spam he had.

Probably he had prolonged his life too much.

He had failed before…

Apparently, he was bound to fail again.

Or maybe this time that wouldn't be that much of a failure as he had managed to find the three main ones…

With difficulties, he stood up. Slowly. Using whatever he could to support himself, he walked outside the room and faced the living room. His desk and the portraits hang on the walls. His treasure.

He opened the drawer of the desk and took an old fancy necklace with a green stone in shape of heart.

Walking outside the house, he looked at the lake.

This time he looked at it with a different look.

Not contemplating its beauty. He knew it still was beautiful as before. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed the privilege to be its guardian.

The guardian of the lake. The guardian of the lake land. The lake house. The guardian of Bohma and its treasures. Its memories.

He knew the time to let go of that history was near.

He needed to pass on his message. Even if incomplete…

He walked over the barn. It still remained intact since the last time he entered there so long ago…

Standing before the doors. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. His hands touching the wood.

His conscience reaching a distant memory, reconnecting with the past.

He could feel the old energies still surrounding the area.

He opened the doors.

Broke its seal.

The smell of abandon, the dust and the nearly darkness of inside passed through him.

There used to have more life there…

Now it had become a tomb. A wooden tomb.

However, there was still Life in there.

Her energy was still stock in there.

He walked slowly inside, not so fast, as he did the last he went there. When the rustic lights still worked. The open doors illuminated his way to its bottom where there was a dusty bed.

Holding tight the necklace, his conscience reached the spot of the memory of his younger self and the only connection still mending them. He and that location. He and its energies. He and her…

He couldn't pretend the placed looked like before, but he recalled so well that fatidic day.

The cold morning in Winter.

Kneeling before the bed, he placed the necklace on it and covered it with his hands as he rested them on the dusty and old mattress.

His cold hands connecting with the hidden energies of the past.

Navigating through it, his heart raced in his chest. The warmth of his chest contrasted with his freezing hands as he made his final attempt to connect with the Last One.

"Where are you?" he asked in between chokes

His body trembled as his energies were drained.

He knew that was his last resource if he ever broke the barn seal, reason why he didn't do it before.

His old body succumbing to its weakness, he fought it.

He needed to find the last one even if that took his life away.

Trembling he took the last pill from his pocket and swallowed it.

Soon after, he could feel his energies being restored and his spam a bit more prolonged.

Back to the ritual, he closed his eyes and focused again.

The cold breeze of the morning Winter closed the barn doors, keeping him in the complete darkness.

He didn't mind.

It was just him, the sounds of the wind through the cracks in wood and the lost energies of the lost memories of the Last One.

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

"Katarina, we have to talk" Christopher Reed spoke as he followed hurriedly his wife to their chambers after Cathlyn's incident, "I didn't scold you there but you need to listen to me"

"Yes, we do have to talk!" she yelled keeping her back to him as they entered the chambers

"What the hell was that scene about? Attacking Cathlyn like that?"

"Who the fuck do you think I am?" she shouted angrily turning to him, "Now I know why you never returned home!"

"I told you in the letter why I had to stay longer"

"Stupid letter! Bad motherfucker!"

"You're losing your mind!"

"Losing my mind? You son of a bitch! You left me alone while you were here fucking that whore again!"

"What? I didn't do that!"

"Won't you ever change?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard her saying you went after her again for a reconciliation… You chose your whore over your wife!"

"I didn't chose her over you! That's a lie!"

"A lie? Was it my imagination you taking forever to get back? Is it my imagination you have spoken with her while you have been here? None of that happened?"

"It's a lie. How could I reconcile with someone I never had anything?"

"Liar! I know you have met in the bedchambers!"

"Ah, a spy around me… I shouldn't be surprised. Ask your spy to tell you the whole thing before you judge me wrongly!"

"I do not judge you wrongly. You have cheated on me! I can still remember the whores' scent all over you!"

He gasped, "You're definitely losing your mind!"

"You are not married to no average bitch! You are married to Me! Katarina O'Gregon!"

"So Katarina, you'd better take all your shit back. Your attitude was not worth of a queen!"

"A queen? A queen defends her territory and that is what I did!"

"So be a decent wife!"

"A decent wife needs a decent husband! Something you have not been!"

"Your jealousy is growing beyond limits!"

"Jealousy? You cheat on me and I am the jealousy?"

"I didn't cheat on you. If Cathlyn said that…she lied!"

She smirked, "Another reason why that bitch did not deserve to live!"

"Don't ever say that again!"

"Or what?" she spoke defiant

They stared each other. Furious gazes.

"Or I separate from you because I cannot stand that anymore…"

"I will never give you the divorce!"

He almost laughed when she said that, if she knew the truth… "Fine. Don't give me divorce but I can stop you from becoming a queen nor an empress!" he spoke firmly and turned his back

"Are you threatening me Christopher?"

He turned to her and gasped, "No threats Katarina… You'd better change and redeem from your mistakes. This is your last chance to be again the woman I once loved or you'll be nothing or no one besides the bitch I love to fuck and mother of my children!"

"Fuck you Christopher! Do you want the old Katarina back? You would better be the man you never were!"

"And what man was I supposed to be? The stupid clown? The submissive fool?"

"The faithful one! If I am this woman you cannot stand today, it is thanks to yourself! You got to break every innocent piece of me! You broke my bubble, you took my joviality away in all the times you smelt other bitches' fragrances! It is not me who have to recollect myself but you who have to conquer me back if you ever really loved me like you said!"

"You're not in position to demand that!"

"You cheated on me first…I just gave you payback after twelve years being completely loyal, faithful and dedicated to you!"

"So that makes the two of us even."

"We will never be even! It has never been just the two of us in this marriage! Am I lying?"

He gave a shrug, "So why force this broken marriage?"

"Because that is what couples do…they work things up! I made a vow to you and before God…a holy vow, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death…and no one can separate what God united!"

"God has nothing to do with that!"

"You seem to be so urging to get rid of me, huh!"

He swallowed, "It's not about getting rid of you, but the part you seem to be oblivious on me. You speak as if you never did anything wrong. As if you never hurt me. As if you have always being impeccable as a wife… and you're not all that…"

She made an insulted face

"I admit I've made many mistakes, but they're all justified in an only detail you tend to ignore… you think I'm a bad husband but want to stick to those vows? So deal with it then…because it's been a long time I haven't cheated on you, but you're too blind to see that. Your broken ego has keeping you from seeing the man who has really loved you…your loyal husband…the man who has always stood by your side in the good and worse of your actions! You ignore the decent side of me who raises someone else's child as my own without ever had questioned you who the other man was even though now I know who he is, Maddy's biological father…You lied to marry me! You broke your own bubble…I'm done with all the shit!" he spoke firm but with a calmer tone and walked away

"Agghh!" she yelled as she threw the mirror floor to the ground, breaking it, and then she pushed abruptly the contents from the dressing table to the ground without even mind about the loud noises of breaking glasses.

.

.

.

" _Christopher Reed…_

 _I motivated your ass_  
 _I am not broken and I am not crying_  
 _I am not crying!_  
 _You are not trying hard enough_  
 _You are not loving hard enough_  
 _You do not love me deep enough_  
 _We are not reaching peaks enough_  
 _Blindly in love, I fuck with you_  
 _Until I realize I am just too much for you!_  
 _Hey, baby, who the fuck do you think I am?_  
 _Let it be…_  
 _Tonight I am fucking up all your shit_  
 _My love…_  
 _Uh, this is your final warning_  
 _You know I give you life_  
 _If you try this shit again_  
 _You will lose your children!"_  
(Don't Hurt Yourself **with alterations*** – Beyoncé)

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

 **United States, Night**

Katerina arrived home after returning from work.

She wasn't in a good mood as a strong migraine hit her. She thought it was because of the lack of sleep as she used to get up very early to be at the BSAA HQ before Chris and arriving late at home.

She was still young but she could already feel damage of sleep deprivation. Damn! How could that man live that way? And now that he was single again, his old habit of being early at work had returned.

A week passed since she had asked for resignation after the incident in the bathroom with his ex-girlfriend. She thought he would give her a loud scold or even punish her harder for the indiscipline; however, they managed to work things politely.

She felt bad for seeing his sadness and he was too saddened to actually blame her for anything.

She got a day off and in that day, she made a lot of reflection on the matter. Especially about him.

He pretended well to not be deeply sad for the breakup, but she having a closer proximity with him had caught some moments of his sadness, yet he had a big pride and obviously, he wouldn't go after his ex when she was the one who made the mistakes to hurt him.

If he knew better… Maybe he would consider calling Cathy back and reconcile.

She couldn't let that happen. Katerina needed that job and she needed Cathy away in order to keep it.

It was obvious both women didn't stand each other without any particular reason.

Chris Redfield wasn't her type, but she didn't think Cathy was good enough for him.

Chris Redfield was a good boss, but worked too much.

Well, she couldn't complain that much as they did pay her correctly and the bigger deposit of her salary in her account had a bittersweet delight. She needed that money. She was happier for the numbers increase, but that also seemed to be taking her youth away.

She had no life anymore, or at least she felt that way.

She no longer went to parties at night that often. In a month working for Chris Redfield, she only managed to go to two parties on two Friday nights, and she didn't even manage to enjoy it that much as her drained body only asked for the comfort of her bed.

How could someone live like that?

Oh – the cave man could! Bear Redfield.

Now she wondered if Greta, the longtime secretary, would want her old post after the maternity leave.

She wondered if that sacrifice was really necessary for a higher compensation that was nearly killing her.

She missed her party life. Her weekends with friends. The dull holidays.

Well, in the other hand that much of work had been a perfect excuse to decline Douglas' dates invitations.

She wondered for how long she could keep living that way and being his mistress. The comfort he provided her had a high price. It costed her dignity.

She wasn't proud for being someone's mistress. No wonder why she accept such a low position as a receptionist in the BSAA in the first place. She wanted her freedom back.

Being Douglas' mistress was like living in open-sky jail.

She thought her fling with Piers would allow her to break her chains from Douglas, but the young soldier was more committed with work than with her.

For her misfortune…

She missed the good times Piers provided her. She liked his temperamental mood, especially when he wanted to discharge all his "stress" when they were in bed. She loved that!

They had that in common. Sex helped them to relax from storms of life.

She missed having sex too. That had been the longest period she had no sexual activity. She didn't even recognize herself for such – merit.

How could someone live normally without it? Celibate?

Chris Redfield was somehow an executioner of her fun. Draining her energies in a not so cool way and somewhat working in the punishment of her moral crime of being someone's lover.

He'd better compensate her for all that!

But for now, the only "compensation" she got was a fucking migraine on a winter night.

After taking two analgesics pills, she lied on the bed. In the dark. In the cold night.

With difficulties to relax, she turned to the sides on the bed searching for a comfortable position for her head that seemed to be torn apart without anesthetic.

After some time, when the meds took effect, she managed to sleep.

* * *

 **Bohma**

"Mr. Lionel!" the assistant yelled as he opened the barn's doors and found the old man lying unconscious on the ground. A deep concern crossed him as he checked the old man's vital signs. He was still alive.

"Lionel! Please wake up!" he yelled again as he took the man in his arms and carried him to his bedroom

No response.

He opened to bedside table drawer only to find the glass bottle empty. Another concern hit him. Did the last pill made the opposite effect? Or had the last pill lost its effect?

Either ways, he decided to call the ambulance to take the old man to the hospital, despite knowing the man was completely opposite to the idea of hospitals. Especially at that age.

As soon he grabbed the phone, Mr. Lionel opened his eyes.

"Lionel!" he spoke in a sort of relief for seeing the man back

"Jerry…"

"You're finally awake. I was about to call the ambulance…"

"I'm glad I'm back on time then! You know you're forbidden to do that!"

The assistant looked down embarrassed, "I'm sorry…I only tried to help…"

"You know doctors cannot help me and I cannot take the risk of them finding out my secret…"

"I know…I'm sorry…"

The old man smiled faintly and took the man's grip, "I know you only had the best intentions…But you know it's just a matter of time until you have to let me go…I have lived long enough…Or more than enough!"

"I know that…But it's hard for me…I know you all my life and you're so important for me that…That it hurts me to watch you go this way…"

"The so called attachment… I know that so well! It never gets easier. Every person leaves a single mark in us, and it's hard to let the nature take its course…"

"I can order more meds…"

The old man shook his head in denial, "I don't want it anymore…"

"You still didn't find her!"

"Maybe I don't have to…"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe it's not my mission to find her…"

"That doesn't make sense… you lived for that!"

"And I'm dying for it… Accepting my fate…accepting destiny…"

"That's unfair…it seems you'll be leaving an incomplete story. An incomplete message… You even broke the seal of time!"

"I tried to reach her spirit through the energies of the barn…the vortex is still there…I could feel it!"

"Did you find her or any clue of her whereabouts? Anything I can do for you to find her?"

"All I'm sure is that she's in this century"

"You still had doubts?"

"I did…it has happened before…Katarina didn't return in the 19th century. The other three did!"

"You didn't tell me that before…"

The old man looked away, "You tend to think I know it all, but I don't… I'm just an old man who has seen a lot. A Lot! But I don't know everything… but "They" showed me that…" he made a pause, "I just forgot to mention before…old brain!" he laughed

"And what happened to them in 19th?"

"The three were siblings."

"What? Siblings?"

"Yes."

"Christopher and Angelique…brother and sister? They loved each other as man and woman…"

"Love has several facets…Plus, they didn't know they had been husband and wife before…"

"And how did they live?"

"They succeeded…they didn't jump to incest if that's what you're asking me…"

"I can't believe it…Not that I doubt you…it's just…impressive…"

"Christopher and Angelique have lived a looong spiritual road together…reason why they have a more mature towards each other… What they lived in the 18th was a big test for their bond…and they succeeded."

"They were separated!"

"And never stopped loving each other…"

"They suffered!"

"Learning true love hurts! And takes time…lives…"

"What about Katarina? She got him! she made them suffer!"

"It was their destiny…those three had a situation to be "rescued"…a sort of "payback" for things from previous lives…and that information I obtained in the barn today…"

"Meaning?"

"The Law of Return, returned for them in the 18th, but they failed to rescue that. To understand that…"

"I'm not following you Lionel…" the man spoke confused

"What I can tell you is that in some previous life to the 18th, Angelique did contribute to Christopher and Katarina's separation…and that situation marked Katarina profoundly and she failed dealing with it… she let her anger speak higher and then she did the "same" mistake Angelique did in the previous life which culminated in Katarina's death…so the cycle of the Wheel of Life started. The Law of Return is in action and in this century they're back to stop that cycle…hopefully…It all depends in the moral evolution of each have acquired so far."

"And after all that…you tell me that maybe it's not your mission to tell all of them and guide them for better choices?"

"Jerry, how do you want me to tell the now skeptical Christopher and Pierce this multiple lives thing? They will just curse me and call me crazy! All I can do is to plant the seed in their minds about the history they had here…and that I've done already. The rest is up to their intuitions, dreams or whatever echoes in their souls to make them question their values or whatever… The brain memories might be blocked, but not the energies of their souls. This is never completely blocked! And Christopher already felt something about Angelique…his "soul" recognized "her". It's all about energies! Because in the end, what really matters is the present! They had the "destiny" to meet me here. They listened to me. And Angelique, ah, Angelina is really into it…I'm guiding in all I can, and I hope this will help her stop the cycle started many years ago… If Katarina can't stop it, maybe Angelina can."

"I understand Lionel…but honestly, in my opinion…it's not Angelina who needs to listen and be guided…but Katarina! She's the one who committed the most outrageous mistakes!"

Lionel smiled friendly. He understood his assistant's point of view. He didn't disagree.

However, he knew…

He just knew something else about Katarina.

He simply knew…

* * *

 **United States, Morning**

"Kate, are you okay?" Lucy, spoke in concern as she noticed Katerina's so silent during breakfast

"Yes..." she replied moving the spoon nonstop in her coffee cup

"You are so distant... did something happen at work?"

Katerina shook her head in denial, "I had a strange dream... actually a nightmare!"

"About what?"

Katerina frowned distressed, "I dreamed about Chris...Actually two dreams…nightmares…"

"Oh really? What did you dream about him this time?"

Katerina was reluctant, "In one dream we were married and we had a lot of children... and the other one we…we were deeply in love…"

"And where is the fact of being a nightmare?"

"Hello! We being married and having children! Even more me and him in love! Nonsense!"

The friend laughed, "Yeah... someone is really in denial..."

"No denial! It's an absurd!"

"You have dreamt of him a lot lately…I'm just saying it…"

"Not a lot lately! I spent most of my time with him, obviously my brain is doing such associations in my dreams! It's scientifically proved!"

"Okay…so why are you always so affected by it if you don't give a shit to him?"

Katerina looked away and left the table without warning.

Those dreams always disturbed her. She couldn't explain the immense sadness and the hole inside her chest every time she woke up, and the pain that always hit her body as if she had been run over by a bus or fallen abruptly in the ground from a high place.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **First of all, I know Beyonce's song didn't exist in the 18th xD but the lyrics describe perfectly Kat's thoughts at that moment. I only used for inspiration.**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who reads my stories, and this story in particular :D It's been a long road, but I wouldn't be here without your support :D**

 **More and more mysteries revealed, and more revelations to come!**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	40. Decisions

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _ **EVERYTHING IS LOVE**_

 _Observe, friend, how everything comes from love and in love everything is summed up._

 _Life - is the Existential Love._

 _Reason - it is Love that ponders._

 _Study - it is Love that analyzes._

 _Science - it is Love that investigates._

 _Philosophy - it is Love that thinks._

 _Religion - it is Love that seeks God._

 _Truth - it is Love that is eternalized._

 _Ideal - it is Love that rises._

 _Faith - it is love that transcends._

 _Hope - it is Love that dreams._

 _Charity - it is Love that helps._

 _Fraternity - it is Love that expands._

 _Sacrifice - it is Love that strives._

 _Renunciation - it is Love that purges._

 _Sympathy - it is Love that smiles._

 _Altruism - it is Love that magnifies itself._

 _Work - it is the Love that builds._

 _Indifference - it is Love that hides._

 _Despair - it is the Love that loses control._

 _Passion - it is Love that is unbalanced._

 _Jealousy - it is the love that has crazed._

 _Selfishness - it is Love that animalizes itself._

 _Pride - it is Love that goes mad._

 _Sensualism - it is Love that is poisoned._

 _Vanity - it is Love that gets drunk._

 _Finally, hatred, which you judge to be the antithesis of Love, is nothing but Love itself which has gravely ill._

 _Everything is love._

 _Do not fail to love nobly._

 _Respect, however, the question that asks you, at every moment, the Divine Law: "HOW?"._

 _ **André Luiz, Apostilas da Vida (Apostilles of Life)**_ "

.

.

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, O'Gregon's Bedchambers**

A couple of days after the fight, Christopher and Katarina remained separate. Both sleeping in different bedchambers. They didn't even see each other since then. They acted like complete strangers.

"Lucy, I need you to get in touch with Albert and order more from that bottle. The one I had I used in Charles's wine" Katarina spoke as she dressed a black sumptuous dress

"Yes ma'am. Can you tell me if it worked?"

"I will check him in a while. I hope he drank the bottle of wine that I left in his bedchambers"

"I see. Anything else milady?"

"Yes. I will need your help tonight, but you have to be very discreet!"

"Alright, What for?"

"We will leave the castle with the kids to a private land of my family's. I ask you to be careful with the children to not raise any suspicion of Christopher or of that idiot stupid cousin of his, Clairy."

"Absolutely milady. Is Maddy coming along with us?"

Katarina was thoughtful and it took a few seconds to give a definite answer, "Yes. From what Christopher said, it looks like Vladimir opened his mouth about us and before Christopher takes any action, I will anticipate him and I will not let him have any trump card over me in this situation!"

"May I ask what happened?"

"We had a terrible argument! Christopher even mentioned divorce again and I did not like the way he referred to me as if I were just his bitch and this I will not tolerate! I have dedicated my best to him since forever, because I always saw how much he worked hard and Charles's father never did value him like he deserved! Everything I have done was for us as a couple as well. All he got was thanks to me! He owes me more respect as a partner and as a woman! That is the reason why it is useless only arguing, I need to take an action and the time for action is now!"

The lady-in-waiting remained silent, but inertly, she recalled the fact that Katarina had had some unscrupulous conducts, especially in relation to Angelique, the late wife of Christopher.  
Katarina loved him very much, but she also loved herself and she was not the kind who measured her actions to achieve her goals. Her conduct as an exemplary wife during the marriage had an obscure side. There were slips of conduct, such as the conducts that had been fostered over Angelique's disgrace and also at Vladimir's expense in granting her a pregnancy to justify the forced marriage.

Katarina was neither an angel nor a demon. Most likely a fallen angel.

Katarina was not herself when possessed by her fierce jealousy. She was able to kill on impulse to defend her acclaimed integrity, Cathlyn's case proved that side of hers. Her well-being, mirrored only in one goal, Christopher Reed.

That man was simply everything she wanted most.

Christopher Reed was the reflection of Katarina. A mirror that reflected the best and worst in the noble brunette.

As a simple servant, Lucy kept her thoughts to herself as Katarina discussed her plans for the escape.

"May I ask another question?" the favorite asked politely

"Say it"

"Are you really going to leave Christopher?"

Katarina laughed with disdain, "Of course not! This is out of question! I will just scare him a little and give him the time he needs. I have known him for a long time and I know he will need to breathe a little after that fight... just as I... you know… long marriage phases! Ups and downs…"

Katarina finished dressing up and lifted her chin up in an imposing posture as she walked the corridors of the Castle of Bohma, full of confidence as she headed to the king's chambers.

* * *

 **Royal Bedchambers**

Charles sat on the bed, waiting for Katarina's entrance. He looked to the side and took the bottle of wine and a glass, and served himself.

Katarina arrived at that very moment, and was delighted to see that scene. Her plan was working. She gave a faint smile, in which she disguised it with the happiness of seeing the old friend and ally a bit more restored from his health.

"Charles!" She greeted him pleasantly

"Kat!" he greeted her back with a warm smile, "Do you want wine?"

She nodded, "Of course!" She waited for him to serve her a drink and thanked him, then sat down at the end of the bed - such intimacy with the monarch -, "How are you feeling?" she asked after taking a sip of the liquid

"I feel much better! Still a little tired, but no longer in terrible pain"

"I am glad to hear this! I guess my presence brought back your health!" she commented playfully

He laughed, "Yeah, I think so. It's always a pleasure to see you Kat!"

She smiled and took another sip of the wine before switching subjects, "So, did you think about that?"

"About your children's marriage?"

"Yes"

"You want to marry your firstborn, right?"

"Yes, Maddy first and then my second girl Lilly"

"Don't you think you're a little rushed?"

"No I do not think so. Madeline recently became a young lady. She is no longer a child if you know what I mean…"

"She became a woman early, if you're referring to the bleeding?"

"You got it right; she is already in the stage of acting like a woman and find a good husband"

"Why the hurry to marry her?"

"No. It is not hurry. I will wait patiently for the good husband for her, but she is already aware that soon she will live her freedom and may leave the nest, after all, she will soon be 12 years old and will be in legal age to marry."

"I understand. And Christopher, does he agree with that?"

"Yes, but he has reservations about her age, yet I have already explained to him that it may take a few more years for her to actually get married. Maybe that will happen when she is 15-16. And about that time, I hope she will find a good husband for her, and then it will be Lilly's turn to be in legal age to marry"

"I understand, but let me make a point..."

"Sure"

"I admire you wanting to marry your children and secure their future, but I'm quite surprised to see that coming from you because as I recall correctly you were so reluctant to get married back in the days. I thought you would grant your greater freedom to choose their peers"

Katarina giggled, "I am not forcing marriage on them. I am looking for suitors, they can deny if they do not approve the candidates. But they must be aware that they shall not stay in the nest forever"

"Ah, of course! Now I understand your proposal"

She smiled elegantly, "So, anyone in mind? Maybe some cousin of yours or someone else?"

"No relatives of mine, your beautiful children don't deserve anyone from my family. I do not trust anyone else in my family! Or what's left of it. So they are definitely out of question!"

Katarina disguised her displease and pretended curiosity on the matter, "Why? What happened?"

"I do not want to discuss details. But I can tell you that I am doing everything I can for the Council to approve the person I indicated to be my successor, in case I do not recover my health."

"Really?"

"Yes. Didn't Christopher tell you?"

She made a face, "Hum…No..."

"I made him the legal regent of Bohma and Edonia while I'm bedridden, and in case I do not survive, he must be my successor"

Katarina's lips parted in shock, she remained motionless. Mute. She did not know how to react to that revelation. Now her husband's words made sense during the discussion. How could he hide it from her? How long had he known this and remained silent? He did not say any of that in the letter. And that made her even angrier still. She hated her husband's silences, especially regarding important matters.

Only now she did realize that she was indeed a queen. A pretentious queen, yet a valid queen.

Only now she did realize how much she could have undermined Charles's decision if he had known of the terrible conduct she had had with the stupid duchess.  
And apparently, Charles did not know the confusion yet. And that way she intended to keep things.

"So didn't he tell you that?" The king commented, bringing the brunette's attention back to him.

Katarina could not disguise her reaction to that revelation, "No... Actually we have not had time to talk yet…"

"I understand. Anyways, I still have not gotten a response from the Council and I hope they approve my proposal. Christopher is a good man and proved to be a good regent too...and so did you. I will never forget what you two did for Baveen and Arthena! And for that, I fear I will not be in good health by the time it takes to make my will be validated."

"That will not happen, Charles! I promise you that your will, will be accepted! And I even have a suggestion to give you about an experimental remedy that may be your last option, but I swear that so far the results have been positive! It is an experimental remedy, but a miraculous one! I am sure it will restore your health! "

"How do you know that?"

"I have taken it myself!"

"You did?" he asked surprised

"Yes I did! There was a time when my health was weakening and... And a friend suggested giving it a try and it worked! I have never felt so good before!"

"And what is this remedy made of?"

"This remedy is produced from a very rare herb. It comes in powder or tablet form. I assure you it works!"

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Of course! If you want, I can take it along with you to prove you that it really does not cause any harm! And I will even make you a confession now... my period came back after I took this medicine! I had already stopped bleeding... and now I can even be a mother again if Christopher and I are not careful..."

Charles made a face. He liked hearing that confession and didn't disguise his usual attraction for the beautiful brunette, "The only thing I envy about Christopher..." he took her grip, "I wish you had been my queen, a queen still so fertile, so strong and beautiful... mother of my heirs... what a bad decision my father made by marrying me to another woman, and today I need heirs... not even bastards I have! What a tragic fate of mine…"

Katarina smiled keeping a mysterious aura. A sudden thought passed her mind after the sovereign's words. She could have power in two ways, collaborating in the Council's acceptance to respect Christopher as a valid successor and to be queen in fact after Charles's death, or to accept Charles's seemingly indecent proposal and give him a bastard heir.

She had the upper hand...

"It is indeed a tragic fate a king like you die without offspring…" she held his grip back

* * *

 **O'Gregon Chambers**

"You're agitated, milady. What happened?"

"Change of plans. You go with the kids and take some other reliable maids. I will join you later. I cannot leave the castle now..." Katarina spoke walking in circles around the bedchambers

"Why not? Did Christopher suspect of you?"

"No... It happens I need think about Charles's proposal…"

"What proposal?"

"I accidentally told him that I am still fertile and he suggested that I give him a bastard heir…"

The favorite widened her eyes in surprise, "And you're going to do that?"

"I do not know… that is why I need to think better! Or I save his life until the Council complies with his proposal to make Christopher his successor, or I give him a bastard successor…"

"What? That would be a scandal!"

Katarina laughed, "I live off scandals since I was young! I am used to that!"

"But you love Christopher..."

"I am bitterly mad at him! I knew he was hiding something and so did Pierce and that must be the reason why he left Edonia so suddenly! Charles named Pierce a council member, but in case of succession, Pierce will be Head of Government while Christopher Head of State... and I was completely alienated from that information and I almost ruined everything because of that whore Cathlyn! She must have been thinking that she would be the new queen or something, and that was why she was feeling so defiant! Damn! And the idiot of my husband remained silent! I am losing confidence in Christopher... He omitted this from me all the long! I so knew he was different and I do not doubt he is still hiding something else... and if he is, I will find out or I am not Katarina O'Gregon!"

"But my lady... Christopher will never accept you having a child with Charles. Or are you really considering leaving him now?"

Katarina frowned thoughtful. She had really forgotten that if she agreed giving Charles a child.

Lucy was right in saying that, Christopher had always been what she wanted most, and she had him... but things with him were not exactly how she imagined it would be. She was very hurt now. Years swallowing the disapprovals of his attitudes, his omissions, his betrayals, they were now evident showing how much hurt she was inside.

Things should have been so different... Ah! If he had treated her better...

"I separate myself from him by taking advantage of this moment of crisis, I give an heir to Charles, and then I get back with Christopher… but now I need to guarantee Charles's life until I decide what will be best for me and for now his body seems to be reacting well to the powder, so you go to the land I will go meet Albert"

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma**

 **Following Day**

Christopher headed for a farther garden. He needed a time alone and isolated. He did not want any disturbance as he recovered from the situation with Katarina.

It was always like this when they fought. 50/50. When they were well, they were really good. When they were bad, they were complete strangers.

He could not understand how he could still be with her. He could not tell if he really loved her. He could no longer distinguish his feelings for her or for Angelique.

It was a mixture of feelings that tormented him. It took his attention from really important things. It was no longer enough to be being tested by Charles as the legal regent of Bohma and Edonia.

Edonia ... it took his peace to know that the place was vulnerable despite sending Pierce to assist Leonard. Not that he did not trust the skills of Leonard Keane and Pierce Northman, but that responsibility was primarily his and Katarina's in first place.

And now Katarina was not by his side. He was surprised by the disappearance of his children and Katarina's upon waking up and discovering the fact.

She had hurt him a lot with that attitude. Katarina knew how to hurt him when she wanted to.

Katarina had run away.

Simply the beautiful brunette had left with her children. Parts of it. This made him sleepy, tranquil. He did not even suspect her intentions while they slept apart. And nothing more painful than hurting him through their children, his true weakness. It was already painful not to be able to live with his eldest son, Oliver.

Katarina had left even the political affairs that were her function. It was always she who dealt with diplomatic matters; it was always she who made the agreements with the other kingdoms. She was the brain of political relations. She was the intelligence of the pair.  
He was the man of military interests. The brain on the battlefield, on the borders. Diplomacy had nothing to do with him.

And on the other hand there was their personal affairs. The "marriage". Legal or not, there was real coexistence. It was real. 12 years were not 12 days.

In the midst of so many conflicts, they always reconnected. After all, he had no choice before. Katarina was his only option for over a decade.

Not anymore.

Angelique was alive, her legal wife.

After so many years, things have changed. Even still loving her. Yes, he still loved his dear redhead.

They still needed to talk.

Talk about what exactly?

Angelique seemed to have already made the choice: George.

Why did he still insist on feeling that there were pendencies between them?

In the midst of so many thoughts, a strange sudden fog had formed around him.  
He had seen that before.

In the middle of the fog, the same mysterious woman who had approached him years ago appeared, only slightly older.

"Still lost..." she exclaimed.

"What do you want?" He asked a little defensive.

"I ask you... what do you want?"

"An answer..."

"A definite answer..." she added, "An absolute truth... when there is no absolute truth."

"I do not want absolute truth."

"Do you still remember what I told you last time?"

"About the woman that would bring discord?"

"Exactly... I'm glad you did not forget my words, even though you did not put them into practice..."

"I do not know who this woman is!"

"You know...you even love her"

He frowned, "I think love two women. Which one of them?"

"You think you love..." she repeated him noticing the doubt in his statement

"What?!"

"Either way, two women you've got pendencies. The wheel of life turns slowly, but it is spinning and there is nothing you can do to avoid it. The harvest is a definite truth."

"I don't understand what you're saying..."

"One man and two rivals... old rivals. Old disputes. A cycle that has lasted for many, and many years. Someone has to stop the cycle, but it will not be now, because other pending influences the final outcome... nothing is by chance. Not even pain and suffering. Everything is useful in the field of life. In the unfolding of destiny."

Christopher did not understand the mysterious woman's words. He hated having to read between the lines. If she knew the right way, why did not she speak at once?

"Free-will is the greatest gift, but not everyone knows how to use it. Not everyone knows how to deal with the consequences of their attitudes…"

"I just want to know who the bad woman is so I should stay away from!"

"Who said you should stay away from her?"

"Why would I want to be with someone who is evil?"

"Because there is love. There is eternal bond."

"I cut the bond! I cannot love someone bad!"

"Why not? You already do, and how you love her! It's part of your destiny. In fact, what makes you believe that you have not committed even worse evils that you do not remember?"

"I don't promote evil to anyone! If I find out, and I'll find out who she is, I'll stop loving her and I'll cut the bond!"

The woman smiled slightly and began to disappear in the fog, "Poor man, you cannot escape your destiny! This love will still get very sick and you'll still love her, because everything is love. And sick love unites as much as tender love. You will have eternity to purify yourselves... Divided heart. Which woman will you choose?"

The fog cleared.

"This woman is crazy!" Christopher thought annoyed, but still, remained thoughtful. The woman's words lingered in his mind.

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century**

 **Lake House**

"Why are you showing me this and telling me all that, Mr. Lionel?" Angelina asked after reading some copies of letters that Christopher supposedly wrote

"Because I believe in your sensitivity, Angely… I want to know your opinion on the matter"

"Honestly… I pity him. He was victim of big lies. He was fooled… that is what happens to good people…they're easily fooled. They're easily used. They don't see evil with anticipation, and even when they do…something stops them to see it through…somehow they still believe in goodness in those people that hurt them…Christopher's love blinded him and everyone paid for that! He loved the wrong woman…or women…he chose wrong…and paid for that."

"If you could, would you try to open his eyes?"

"How could I do that? He'd dead already! There's no time machine!"

"True that…but, what if you could meet him? Even through dreams… you told me you dream about him"

She made a face, "I don't dream about him…I dreamt of Chris…the soldier that saved my life…somehow I got attached to him because of that, and so I dreamt about him a few times and inspired by your tales, I dreamt of him dressed as Christopher, but I knew it was Chris Redfield all the long"

"You tried to reach him in your dreams…"

"It's like I said…I felt attached for the fact he saved my life when we met…those dreams are just fantasies inspired in your tales. No way Chris is Christopher!"

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Isn't it obvious? They look different! Christopher lived centuries ago! No one lives all that!"

The old man smiled at her statement

"Even if he could through some miracle or something…he'd definitely look very old!"

"And not as handsome as he looks now…" the old man spoke jokingly

The redhead couldn't help the laugh, she even blushed a little. True fact. Chris Redfield was handsome.

"And what about Katarina? What do you think of her?"

"I hate her" she spoke sharply

Lionel stared her. She was quick saying that, and that got his attention, "A gentle girl like you saying such a powerful word…"

"I'm gentle but not stupid. I can't stand her! And obviously I'm not the only one who thinks that. Jerry and most of the town share the same feelings as me"

Unconsciously the young girl passed her hand on her stomach. A simple sign that took Lionel's attention. An her words got him concerned. He was having doubts about those people's success to surpass the negative feelings stock in their souls.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **Thank you everyone who is reading the story :D**

 **I translated the initial text, I liked it's message and I thought that fit the current setting of the story.**

 **We are very close to the final moments of the 18th and somehow I'm happy about it, but sad at the same time. I never thought the story would prolong this much, but I think it's a good thing that I could develop the special points about the whole essence of the story until it's resolution in the 21st. Despite my chapters not being so long in an average scale. It's a long story, but with "short" chapters. Probably if the chapters were longer, there would have less chapters for sure xD or maybe not that much xD**

 **Anyways, the heavy drama will belong to the 18th and very soon the full 21st will be out and I hope you will stay on board with me. A lot of good things are to come :D**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	41. Jealousy

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _Innocence…innocence… it was the first thing to be taken from my hands when I got power. How painful is to remember… oh the grief! They say "the way they died, is the way they are remembered"… is that really true? A woman fits into many attributes in life, and she is someone else in every moment. She becomes a child, a woman, a mother and, if she is a beloved, intelligent servant of God, then she even become an Empress, a Queen._

 _I saw and lived through all of those, thank God. I tasted them all. But what capacity shall I be remembered as? What attribute shall describe me? What will they say about me centuries later? An innocent girl who fell in love with a simple knight, and who was torn away from her name? A powerful, charitable regent who gave the kingdoms valid heirs, kept the tent of the state standing, and kept the bellies of thousands people full in her foundation? Or…a cruel woman, who for the sake of her wishes went crazy for her own ambition and didn't even spare her own loved ones?_ "

Sitting on his desk, Mr. Lionel read a couple of old letters written by Katarina on her final days. He sighed. Alone, in the middle of the night, sleepless, his mind constantly returned to old days.

Days of a young man, a young prince, who succeeded the most influent families of Bohma. A young man with a very special blood.

Days of conflict, between the duty and the compassion.

The young prince walked the rock-made, dark corridors, only illuminated by torches on the walls.

He turned the only corner and faced a narrow corridor even darker. At the bottom, a single chamber illuminated by torches.

He inhaled gaining courage to give the first step on the dirty ground, full of dust, abandoned by the time. Nearly cold due to the winter winds coming from few windows across the place.

So silent. Only winter winds could be heard, and his own footsteps, besides the noises of clashing metal.

Back to the present, Mr. Lionel sighed heavily. Where could he find her this time? Would he be granted to find her and pass on his last message? Try to fix the damage made?

Despite everyone's thoughts that he had all the answers. That was untrue. He didn't have that specific answer.

Could she really draw her destiny and fix the past on her own?

Then he remembered his pupil's statement: "I hate her". A strong statement. Those words spoken by Angelina caused his a big concern. How could he deal with that? More and more he felt he was failing with his mission… or maybe that wasn't his mission…just a burden he inflicted on himself and made him believe there was a mission. A burden that made him take all the necessary measures to prolong his lifespan…all in vain.

Christopher had become a skeptical man. Alongside Pierce. Angelina kept hatred in her heart. He had no clue on Katarina's whereabouts.

Their destiny's paths had never been so distant and so close since the 18th century. Distant because they didn't seem to bond as they did in the past, with exception of Christopher and Pierce. Well, a bond that had been reinforced in the 19th century when they were born as siblings.

And also Angelina…

Their once angelical love seemed to have become nothing more than just…fondness. Probably because of their fraternal bond in the 19th century as well.

Maybe they weren't mean to be as he thought…

Maybe nothing was like he imagined.

Maybe he wasn't meant to be their mentor.

Maybe they didn't need him as he thought.

Maybe it was about time to finally let go…

Let go of the history.

Let go of Bohma.

Let go of them.

Set himself free…

* * *

 **BSAA, Locker Room, Morning  
**

Two girls were talking after their training, when one of them waited other agents leave so she could start the dirty talk with her friend.

"My friend, I think you were right"

"About what?"

"About those two..."

"Who?"

"The gold digger and the... captain," she whispered in the last word.

"Ahh, really?"

She nodded, "I think they... I think you were right when you said that after the fight, it was strange just one of them had been punished... I think you were right... the fight was for a big fish and he chose the younger one…"

"As in?"

"Yesterday I stayed until a little later to compensate for the time I left for my appointment with the doctor and when I was in the car about to leave, I saw them in the parking lot and I got watching them until I saw them getting into his car."

"Really?"

"Yes! And now I just went into the director's office, when I turned the corner I saw he was coming to his cabin and he grinning at her as he passed by her desk. He also said something and she immediately followed him into his cabin and closed the door"

"Oh really…" the other one made a contemplative expression

"There's something is going on between those two…"

"I don't doubt it... I had heard that sometimes they leave together... and she always stays after the normal work shift. Greta was not like that, and now that apparently he and Cathy broke up, their closeness has become more evident..."

"True... It does not make any sense Cathy had that outbreak for no reason at all! She has always been a very controlled, polite person, not to mention she is a trained agent! It wouldn't be for nothing or petty reason that she would cause such a scandal"  
"I guess she got some evidence of their affair, and he as a superior protected the "cute one" and punished only Cathy…shame on him!"

"The "cute one" is the smart type! She just wants the best. She started with his pupil and now she got the captain... but she won't stop there. She will only use him as her trampoline... the day she picks up a superior to him, she'll drop him without a second thought!"

"I agree with you... she and the pupil broke up and it's strange that he has gone away for so long after that..."

"Maybe his 'mission' was actually a punishment or something like that..."

"The truth is that the captain chose wrong!"

"Well... actually he always liked the younger ones! Much younger! His latest official and public girlfriend was a girl from the tech department a few years ago."

"Really?"

"Yep... her name was Laura."

"He likes young…how old was she?"

"She was 19 when they came out publicly, but there was already evidence that they had been together for some time prior"

"And did it last?"

"Yes, they broke up in 2009 and that's when she left the BSAA. I remember once Laura said that they were already together for 3 years and she joined us when she was 17 and soon after she was turned 18 in 2005... So if they were together for 3 years in 2008, it means they started dating shortly after she joined and no one noticed…"

"I guess he has a thing for coworkers…"

"Probably…"

"Yet he also seems to be the type that when he dates, he stays a long time with that same person..."

"Yeah, he stays long enough until he meets a much younger chick!"

"A young chick named Katerina..."

"By coincidence, she's the same age as Laura, but Laura was the opposite of her! She gave no attention to other men! She wasn't smiley, much less smiley to other men, she didn't show off her body, she didn't wiggle to walk and she did wear panties!"

The other one laughed.

Piers, hidden, listened to gossip girls. Not that it was his habit listening to other people's conversations, but the place chosen by the girls to distill the poison gave him no other choice if he didn't want to be seen. But it might not have been a bad idea to hear the gossips about Katerina. A lot had happened in his absence.

Apparently, Katerina had moved on. He was not surprised, after all, they were not committed and neither of them owed exclusivity to each other, but...  
He needed to figure out the situation. It was strange the thought that his superior, after so many distancing from Katerina, now they seemed to be "sharing" the same woman.

He waited the gossipers return to their posts, and it gave him time to recover from disturbing thoughts and headed to the cabin of no other than Chris Redfield.

* * *

He spotted her from afar, leaving the cabin and heading to her desk. His heart raced seeing her figure.

Despite the months apart, seeing her still caused him something he couldn't exactly tell what it is. They hadn't been exclusive, nor committed, but the thought of his superior and friend could be doing her bothered him.

He felt angry with himself for feeling those sentiments. He didn't own her. He hadn't been capable to define his real feelings for her.

At the same time he felt attracted, he repelled her. At the same time he missed her, he wanted distance from her. He didn't really want her back, but he also didn't want to see her with…Chris…

He inhaled and walked the corridor, not losing sight of her as she worked in the computer without taking notice of his approaching presence.

"Good morning" he greeted her as he stopped in front of her desk

"Good mor…Piers…" she looked up in a light scare as she recognized him

"Kate…"

"You're back!" she smiled

"Yeah…and I can see you have been promoted in my absence…to Chris's personal assistant…"

She made a face, "Not exactly…it's temporary. I'll return to my old post when Greta returns…"

"I doubt it"

"Why do you think so?"

"You're too good for a setback…you're talented and I'm sure other people will notice that on you…" he gave a shrug, "Chris did…"

She gasped, "He needed someone. He didn't chose me…"

That moment, the telephone started buzzing. He made a gesture to have permission to get in the cabin, with her permission as she knew Chris was alone, he entered, greeted his superior, closed the door, and sat on the chair before his boss' desk.

"How was the course?" Chris asked in friendly manner

"It was good… I think is important to keep ourselves updated with so much technology."

"I agree"

"So how are things here?" he made a brief pause, "Cathy?"

Chris looked briefly to the side, "The same…Got some paper work and training personnel…the usual"

"Things are not the same… I could see you chose Kate…"

Chris raised an eyebrow as he stared his second-in-command before him, as he waited a better formulation of the sentence

"For Greta's vacancy… I saw Kate at the entrance…"

"Ah yeah…that changed…she's doing a good job so far"

"What about Cathy? I wonder she's not much fond of it…"

"Cathy has been relocated…" Chris replied not entering in personal details

Piers pretended surprise, "Why?"

"She had a bad conduct and it was the best for all parties… I had already warned her to keep composure, which is part of the professional ethics. She was "lucky" she wasn't suspended or even fired, I managed to intervene for her as I didn't think she deserved to lose her job for a misconduct…so she had been adverted and then relocated to another office."

"Maybe she had good reasons…"

"It doesn't justify attacking someone"

"What? She attacked someone?"

"She did."

"I didn't know that"

"It happened two weeks ago or so…"

"Who did she attack?"

"Kate"

"Ah…Now I understood everything…"

Chris made a face confirming Piers' suspicions

"I wonder Cathy had objections when you chose Kate for the job"

"I didn't chose her. Cathy had no power to decide the candidates for the vacancy. Kate got it due to her competence"

"I'm sure she's very competent…" Piers said with a slight sarcasm remembering the gossipers talk, and also his nightstands with the young brunette

Chris didn't get the sarcasm his workmate had been referring to, "She is! Everyone deserves a chance and Kate got hers… And that's why Cathy committed a big mistake by attacking her, especially inside the work place!"

Piers made a face. He didn't oppose Chris' arguments completely, yet he had his own reservations, "And Kate?"

"What about her?"

"She's still here…"

"No punishment deserved, but I did talk to her about the incident… She was the victim."

In impulse, Piers gasped a little. He knew Kate well enough to not see her as a complete victim. He knew Kate wasn't the type to simply remain with her mouth shut, no, she wasn't like that. She was capable of provoking to bite back. He also remembered the bitter comments she made in some occasions about the agent. In one or two occasions, he even had thought Kate was actually jealous of Cathy.

 **Flashback**

One day, Piers and Kate were having lunch at the food hall when the young soldier noticed his superior alongside his girlfriend coming in. He observed the couple who had recently came out publicly.

"Cathy is really doing good to Chris. I don't know him for so long, but I heard the things he came through, and the period prior to her… He really looks happy now, and he deserves it" he commented with the young brunette before him having her meal

Katerina took a sip of her juice and only moved her eyes to the side in the couple's direction. It was evident her not so friendly gaze staring them, "Some great men do seem to get conformed to average women, but it's because they haven't taken better…"

"You think Cathy is average?"

"Did I mention her name?"

"You said that while you stared them…"

"I was just randomly looking around. No offense…"

"You always look randomly when they're around."

"Someone is jealous…"

"Apparently…it happens it's not me…"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing…I was just randomly thinking loud"

She rolled her eyes and inhaled deeply.

 **End of Flashback**

Had Chris surrendered to Katerina's enchantment too? It wasn't any pleasant the thought those two could've been intimate after all the cold waters Chris maintained to keep Kate distant. Yet, things seemed to be developing between them since the day of the ride when Kate injured her ankle.

Piers learned about that from Cathy, and both shared the same feelings of reprobation. Especially Cathy who had never been capable to disguise her animosity for Kate.

Chris had been in Kate's condo more than once. According to the gossipers.  
Kate worked until late, and left alongside Chris. Something that wasn't a habit of Greta. According to the gossipers, yet a true fact about Greta. He recalled very well that she usually left work by 6PM.

Chris defended Kate against his own girlfriend, and it wasn't just a gossip. He confirmed that now.

"So you broke up with Cathy because of Kate?"

"I didn't break up with her because of Kate, but she did break up with me because of Kate…she couldn't handle her jealousy, and neither did I…so I guess it was the best for us."

Piers remained in silence. "He preferred Kate over all" he thought. Maybe it would be the best for him to let that go. His boss and his ex-affair having some history wasn't his business.  
At least, he learned it with some anticipation before getting in contact with the brunette again. Sinking in all the reprobation, it would be the best for him to move on too. Just like everyone else involved in that tale.

He wasn't the type to let his feelings rule him.

A trait that suited the job.

Soldier ought to keep the reason above all things.

* * *

 **Later That Day**

After spending the day nearly distracted after seeing Piers back, Katerina was distant. His attitude towards her was different. She could feel it. When he left Chris' cabin, he only said a goodbye to her. A cold goodbye as he passed by her desk. The Piers that had entered the office, was different from the Piers that left it.

Facing the computer screen that was turned off, she didn't realize the time had passed. Her shift was over, yet, due to the habit, she remained at work waiting for Chris to leave.

Impatient since Piers' cold attitude, she decided to enter her boss' cabin to inform him she was leaving. Maybe she could still catch Piers at the end of his shift.

"Sir?" she spoke politely as she stood in the middle of the room, watching Chris arranging his desk

"Wait a second…I'm finishing here so we can leave"

She made a face surprised he was leaving earlier than usual, "Hum…actually, I won't need the ride today"

"Are you sure? I'm already leaving"

"Yeah…I have some stuff to do before leaving…"

"Alright, so see you tomorrow. Be careful walking alone to the bus stop this time of the night"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Drive safely"

The pair left the office together and headed to the elevator's hall. Chris took his cellphone and dialed to someone.

Katerina didn't intend to pay attention, but she wasn't deaf either and while they waited for the elevator, she played with her phone as she waited for Piers' reply for her message. A reply she was waiting all day long. She hated feeling ignored.

And speaking about Piers, her ears listened to Chris talking to someone on phone. No one less than Piers himself.

"Are you still in the building?" Chris asked and immediately made a disappointed face, "Oh, you left earlier, so we talk tomorrow…"

Deception took over the brunette. Her plan to go after Piers had been ruined. And she had just declined Chris' ride, but that didn't mean she could try to talk to him and get back in her word as he was still there at her side. She waited him disconnect.

"Hm…Chris…" she spoke with a reluctant tone

"Yes" he turned to her

"I'm sorry to ask that, but is the ride still up?"

He gave a shrug, "Yeah…sure. Don't you have stuff to do anymore?"

She laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, I did, but I'll do it tomorrow because I forgot a detail to accomplish it…"

"I see"

The elevator arrived, and the doors opened. The pair stepped in and remained in silence. Chris greeted some other coworkers that were in the cabin.

Kate only observed, yet distant in her mind. Piers' attitude hurt her. She knew he was ignoring her. She wasn't stupid.

At the garage, she followed Chris as the usual while the other coworkers headed to their cars as well.

She wish she had a car too…

She entered the passengers' side as the usual. For about a month that was her routine after work. Chris had demonstrated concern and pity for her always leaving work on foot to the bus stop. Initially, he dropped her by the bus stop nearby the HQ, despite his concern of her staying there alone waiting for a miraculous bus to pass. As days they left work way later after the last bus passed by there, he proposed to drop her in another bus stop, or the bus terminal, which had more people depending on his direction after work. Although in some occasions, he gave her a ride home.

He turned on the radio, comfortable in her presence, yet in a low volume to not disturb their usual conversation.

"Are you in a hurry to get home?" he asked

"No, why?"

"Do you mind if we stop by a diner. Today I'm starving and there's nothing home to eat. I forgot to do the groceries"

She laughed – men, she thought, "It's alright. I'm hungry too…actually I'm thirsty"

"Alright, so let's eat…do you have any preference?"

"No, I eat everything"

He grinned, "What about pizza? Do you eat carbs?"

"Yeah, gotta keep the hotness in shape!"

He laughed.

Kate had sense of humor. He liked that about her. Her bubbly side. In nearly two months working close daily, he got to know her more. She was smart, disciplined, ambitious and had sense of humor. He loved her sense of responsibility and commitment with work. She did more than just her tasks. His paperwork got more organized and didn't cumulate much since she started working for him. Whatever she could, she solved for him. She had initiative. He liked how impeccable her desk and even his office were now.

Greta was organized and clean, but Kate…She was a neat freak.

His opposite.

He could tell that from their homes' perspective. He entered her condo once, while his own place was only organized because of his absence and the help of Eliza. Although, when he was home, he tried to keep organization as much he could. Especially now as a single man. He was clean about his uniform and work related stuff, and his own hygiene. He was organized for work, but comparing his home to Kate's, surely he lived in a mess when there wasn't cleaning day.

He also loved the coffee Kate prepared to him daily. She knew exactly his taste and she always made sure to make things his way. He almost felt spoiled by her care to serve him. She was the best secretary he ever had.

Instead of eating in the car, they decided to enter the diner. While they waited their order, Kate headed to the women's restroom to wash her hands and reinforce her makeup. She had a thing with her hands and she hated feeling them dirty.

On her way back to their table, from afar, she noticed a woman looking at Chris from her table alongside her friend. Chris was oblivious to their presence trying to get his attention, while he played with his phone.

Bothered by their behavior, Katerina passed by their desk staring them with a serious expression, and instead of taking the seat in front of him, she sat by his side and smiled to him, and he smiled back. Kate made sure to give another serious stare at the women who disguised their embarrassed gazes.

Chris could smell her scent and mentally he approved it, he also didn't mind her sitting at his side. Watching a comedy video a contact had sent to him, he showed it to Kate. They laughed together.

The pair did have a good time in their hangout, and then Chris drove her home.

"Thank you for bringing me home and for the good time. It was good leaving the routine." She said smiling

"Yeah, it was fun."

"See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, tomorrow back to routine"

She nodded in agreement, "Drive safely, Chris. Have a good night"

"Good night Kate, sleep well"

Chris waited Katerina enter the building out of protection, and then drove away.

Katerina entered the elevator's cabin, pressed the button to her floor and then looked her reflection in the mirror. She smiled. An unconscious smile.

She had a good. A good evening.

She entered her apartment, and found weird the lights turned on. She thought Lucy was home. then, she headed to the bedroom.

"Lu…" she had a scare when she saw the figure staring her – Douglas.

"Is this time to get home? It's almost 9PM! What the hell were you doing until now?"

"Working"

"Working?"

"Yeah, my boss is a workaholic"

"So you were with him until now?"

"And other people too. It was a meeting" she lied partially. It was true there were other people and it happened to be an improvised friendly meeting between her and Chris. Yet, she didn't really need to get in details. Half of truth was enough.

"Ah…the infamous late meetings…"

"I'm going to shower and then sleep. I'm tired. I need to get early to work tomorrow"

Douglas held her by the wrist, "You shower quickly. I'm stressed and need you to calm me down, then you can sleep"

Katerina released from him, feeling the urge to cry. Cry in anger. She hated when Douglas did that and showed up out of the blue, without warning. She hated even more how he treated her, as if his sex slave.

She wondered how long she could stand that. More and more she felt dirty and disgusted of that man's touches.

After the forced sex, she showered again and in silence, she cried, while the middle-aged man slept profoundly.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **Thank you Lilty-kun, Atreus Froothduun for the follows and favorite :D**

 **I'm sorry I'm taking longer to update. I'm studying a lot lately in my new course and my brain has been drained :(**

 **We've come to a point that I will show more of the 21st century and glimpses or shorter moments of the 18th as we are already in time of the transition chapters.**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	42. No man's!

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

" _A woman fits in many titles and roles in her lifetime. She is someone else at each stage of her life.(..)_ _What matters is which title and role you see fit for yourself._ "

" _(…) I am a strong woman and he would have to kill me to get his goal! While I breathe and live, no man will never touch me again the way he did! No man will never lose respect for me ever again! That is why (…) that women shall not let down their heads towards men! We have the power to put them down. Women are not vessels and inferior to men. I've stood up for myself against that asshole and I made a lifetime oath, he will never, ever, touch me again!"_

" _But (…)… you're still engaged to him…"_

" _Not for long my dear! Not for long!"_

" _You… you're not really considering to kill him… are you?" the blonde stuttered, the scare was clear in her voice tone_

(*)

 _"You're my fiancée!", the man said stepping close to her_

 _She could not stop herself from shooting him a disgusted look, "Get out of my chamber!", was the only thing she said to him, before making an attempt to move away from the man, who was extremely repulsive._

 _The Duke grabbed hold of her arm, "Answer me!", he demanded stopping her from moving._

 _"Leave me alone!", she screamed angrily, revolted to having been touched by him._

 _"I am not leaving without an answer!", he pressed on knowing the answer._

 _"So what if I did?", Katarina spoke acidly, finally able to jerk her arm off his grip._

 _"What does he have that I don't?", the noble man asked feeling dejected._

 _"Everything!", she replied coldly pushing him away_

 _(*)_

 _"What the hell do you think you are doing?", Katarina asked not keeping the annoyance off her tone, as the duke kept her pinned down with his weight._

 _"Getting what I want", the Duke said leaning closer to her face._

 _"Get off of me!", she tried to push him away and beat him to let her go but he didn't cease._

 _The Duke didn't listen to her and took hold both in one of his hands while his other hand ran wild, feeling the soft curves of her body. She screamed and struggled, trying to get herself lose but felt somewhat helpless against the man, who was twice her size._

 _Just as the man leaned in to capture her lips, she managed to release one of her hands from his grip. She instinctively slapped the duke, putting all her strength in that one slap, which its sound echoed in the room. The Duke sat up straight and she thought that he would give up now, but the next moment he grinded his jaws and pulled out his belt._

 _He tried to grab both of her arms and tied her up, but she knew if she let that happen then she wouldn't be able to save herself. She reached out to whatever she could grab off her bedside table and threw it on to her attacker. He moved to dodge that projectile and she got the chance to push him off herself._

 _She hurriedly crawled off the bed and made a run to save herself, unlocked the door and rushed out the room, calling for help. She looked over her shoulder whilst running to see the Duke following her and she knew he could catch up to her anytime. She tried to run to the entrance hall of the palace, where she thought there were guards and servants that could help her. But just as she reached the top of the stairs, the duke got hold of her._

 _The brunette struggled, shouting out for help and trying herself to release but this time his grip was even tighter. She hit him, pushed him back and pulled away from him, as if they were playing tug or war. She didn't realize when they both lost their footing and fell from the top of the stairs. She reflexively screamed out of pain, as they both rolled down the stairs together, finally crashing at the bottom of the stairs._

 _She pulled herself from the Duke and looked down at his limp form, while his blood formed a pool around his head_.

(*)

Katerina woke up with a start feeling desperate, trembling, confused. Out of reflex, she saw a figure before her. Scared, she pushed it away with all the strength she had for that moment. It was when she heard a scream.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Are you out of your mind?"

She heard a man's annoyed voice, "Get away from me!" she yelled still not completely back to reality

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked stepping closer to her

"Don't touch me! Stay away from me!" she yelled crawling off the bed from the opposite side and ran towards the door of the bedroom

"Katerina!" he yelled going after her

The brunette, terrified, seeing only the disgusting man from the dream, ran away from the bedroom. In the dark, in direction of the stairs.

She knew the man was following her, calling her name.

Luckily she didn't stumble while running down the stairs. When she reached the door and grabbed the keys to unlock, the lights turned on.

"Kate!"

She looked back and saw the naked silhouette of Douglas standing at the stairs' parapet.

"Kate… what's going on with you?"

She choked. She looked scared. Perturbed. For a moment, she saw the man from her nightmare on Douglas. She didn't know what to say. Her mind was incapable of formulating any sense to what just happened.

Maybe it was a result of how emotionally affected she went to sleep those weeks Douglas stayed in the apartment. Always restless. Crying. Angry. Tired of that situation with him.

When she met him, despite her initial antipathy for him, she worked her mind to accept him. That time, she thought getting involved with him would be a good deal to change her life standards when she learned how important he was, a CEO. She thought she could take advantage of that to grow in life, as he seemed willing to give her whatever she wanted.

Now she questioned how much her life had changed. She still felt she had nothing and still lived in the same pattern from the beginning. She lived in a nice apartment – that wasn't hers. She started college – but was in the verge of not completing it. She had no car. She was just a secretary – and temporarily – then she'd be only a receptionist again.

She depended on him to most things. She was a bird that couldn't fly.

Too much sacrifice for nothing… her path was frozen.

She felt she never was capable to progress in anything she wanted, or started. Her path was blocked despite her efforts to improve.

She needed to do something about it and move forward with her life. No matter what.

Careless, the man scolded her and cursed her mean names. He blamed her for the bad night and that he needed a good night of sleep for the meeting the next morning. Yet, he tried to make her stay and shared the same bed for the little time they had of sleep. Although Katerina was irreducible in not letting him touch her again. Sleepless, she headed to the guest room with her cellphone and sent a message to her only friend, Lucy.

"I can't take it anymore. I need your help. I need to get rid of that asshole."

Standing at the balcony looking the night sky, defiantly. Repeating the speeches she heard in her dream and altering to her current stage.

Speeches from the stunning imposing woman she felt very connected at this moment of her life.

"(…) years playing the perfect (…) mistress. Pretending to be what I am not. Who I am not! I am no one's shadow. It is over! Nothing else is in my way. No one else is in my way.  
I am no man's mistress. I am no man's slave. I am no man's maid. I am no man's carpet. I am no man's play. I am no man's trash!

I've stood up for myself against that asshole and I made a lifetime oath, he will never, ever, touch me again!

My name is Katerina Göbel.

I draw my own destiny!"

(**)

While the man slept, Katerina packed some of her belongings. Carefully. Coldly. She separated the items he wouldn't notice the absence at first. Using the bank app in her cellphone, she checked her funds in the bank account. She had enough to make her living for a month or two if she had the help of Lucy by staying in her home, even with the drastic low of standards, otherwise she could barely make a month if she had to go to a hotel or something. She'd have to drop college – unfortunately.

She had to make that sacrifice. It was her dignity in check. Her self-sufficiency. Her pride.

She hid her suitcase with the door attendant. She gave him a nice tip for his silence in case Douglas asked him questions, but she doubted that could happen. Douglas was not the type to talk to people he judged inferior to him so often. In addition, he kept his car in the garage, so there was no chance he could meet the door attendant for at least a day.

Patiently, she waited the time of the alarm clock ring. She played her usual routine. Douglas continued lying in bed; he didn't need to get up so early to go to his work.

She acted normally while she dressed for her work. She carried her usual purse and left.

No kiss of goodbye. He didn't suspect of her at any moment as they had had a tough night, so he wasn't surprised she wouldn't be caring towards him in the morning.

Katerina retrieved her suitcase with the door attendant and left the building without looking back.

* * *

 **BSAA HQ**

Chris arrived at work in his usual time. Before starting his chores, he always passed in his office to get any updates for meetings or notes for the day.

He greeted Katerina, and couldn't help the notice of a suitcase between her chair and the wall, although he didn't comment on that. She warned she wanted to talk to him later. And as the usual, he entered his cabin, and checked his email.

"Dear Captain Redfield,

I am writing this letter to officially inform you that the management has approved the request submitted by you for a business trip to Edonia's branch. It is scheduled to 9 September and we wish that in this period you will work as per to the strategies and norms laid down by the company and will get business for us.

I would also like to inform you that Ms. Katerina Göbel, your personal assistant, Lieutenant Piers Nivans and Ms. Janet Wilson from the Sales department will also accompany you in this trip and we wish that after returning, you should prepare a report as well as your expense report and submit to the concerned department. Your return flight has been left open, as you requested. Tickets are being mailed to you directly from the airline.

We have reserved three double rooms at the corporate rate of $98.00 per room. The hotel provides free breakfast in its lobby from 6:00 to l0:00 a.m. Parking space is available in the hotel underground garage at no additional charge.

We hope you approve our arrangements."

Chris rested his back on the chair and called Kate, who didn't take long to enter the cabin.

"What can I do for you Sir?"

"Take a sit"

Katerina's heart was racing. She noticed the serious expression on the man. Keeping her composure she sat before him.

"I just received a mail and the superiors decided to include you in a business trip to Edonia in three weeks, so I'd like to ask if you accept the invitation."

"Absolutely! When will we be leaving?"

"On September 9"

"Okay…cool…and how long will we stay there?"

"Until I solve the matters there and I'll need your help for reports"

"Oh, okay…I'm glad to serve you" she smiled

He smiled lightly back.

Katerina cleared her throat, "Ah, Sir…May I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Do I have to pay anything for the trip or will be discounted from my salary?"

"No, of course not. It's all on us. Actually it's the opposite; you'll receive extra additions for that"

"Oh…okay…" she spoke relieved

"They are noticing you Kate, and whatever I can do to help you I will do."

"So it was you who suggested me for the trip?"

He laughed awkwardly, "Kind of… You deserve it. I can see you work hard and you're competent, so…I just gave an extra push"

"Thank you Chris!" her voice trembled. She was starting to get emotional, "You have no idea how much this means to me…especially now…"

"Is there anything else I can do for you? You said you wanted to talk to me" he asked noticing her fragility

She was hesitant, embarrassed, "Could you give me permission to stay in a room in a barrack for some time and anticipate my salary so I look for a new place to live?"

"The barrack is just for soldiers and officers"

"Yeah, I know…but I don't have anywhere else to go"

"What do you mean? You have a condo, don't you?"

"No I don't…that place wasn't really mine…I had a bad time with the owner and I had to leave…I just managed to get the essential belongings and I counted with the help of my only friend, Lucy…but she's on a trip in another country and I don't have much to pay for a living…and I cannot go back to that place because I fear for my own life…"she spoke in tears

Chris didn't know what to say. He hated when a woman cried next to him. That made him feel powerless.

"Did you talk to Piers?"

"He's not talking to me…I tried but he's ignoring me"

Chris bit his lips and frowned thoughtful. He thought of people that he could ask some favor and home Kate, but at the same time he knew that would be awkward to ask as a favor.

"Don't you have any relative?"

She shook her head and looked down, "No…They're dead…"

"I thought you had a brother…Vlad"

"Vlad is useless!…It's because of him I don't have money for me now! I know he won't pay me anytime soon"

"I see…" Chris could relate to her loneliness. He knew that feeling very well, however he had a sister he could count on.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have told you that…You're just my boss and…I'll give my own way…but you could let me sleep in this cabin tonight…I hadn't slept yet and because of no sleep I can't think…could you do that for me?"

He looked at the couch. It was comfortable, he himself had slept there a few times. There was a personal bathroom. He had his own suite when not home, but he looked back at Kate. She was going through a hard time and no one else could help her. And there she was crossing the boss-employee line out of despair.

He was surprised with Piers' behavior towards her, but he could also understand. Ex-lovers atmosphere were really a problem.

He had no other friends in town to home her. He thought of Claire, but remembered she was on a trip.

He thought of paying her stay in a hotel, but for how long would she stay there? He knew her salary couldn't afford it for too long, and why would he spend on that when another option crossed his mind. A crazy option. Desperate times call desperate measures.

"Hum…I know I'm your boss and there's a limit for this relationship…but I know it's not the employee crying before me and trying her last resource…it's the person who needs a friend…and I can be a friend too…so I'm leaving the professional relationship aside and as a friend I can be…I offer you my guest room…" he swallowed, "in my apartment"

She was trembling in nervousness, "What?"

"I live alone…I have space for two…I could help you with money, but…why spend when I can offer you for free?"

"This is bold offer…I…I don't know if I can take it…"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the best option I see and I have thought of many options, but…I could also let you stay in my cabin, but…that sounds crazier for me…you living here, even for a short period of time"

"It's until Lucy return"

"And when will Lucy return?"

"In two weeks"

"Two weeks sound a lot to live in an office…"

They stayed in silence for some time.

Katerina didn't count on that offer. She even thought of going after Piers again. It sounded more comfortable going after her ex-affair and share his place with him, instead of sharing it with her boss.

She was aware Chris was a man that liked helping people and she was sure he was born to do that.

"I'll try to talk to Piers again…then I'll give you an answer"

"Alright…"

Those two were left in an awkward atmosphere, but that was done. They were living one of those days…

After some hours, Katerina gained courage to visit Piers, after trying to contact him by phone. As the usual, he continued ignoring her. And that intrigued her.

Without warning, and using her break time, she went after him in the locker room after asking about his whereabouts.

She entered and listened to voices talking. She recognized his voice talking to a female in the shower area.

Katerina walked slowly paying attention to their conversation and hid behind the door. She gave a peek when noticed they went silence.

Her eyes widened, her legs trembled when she saw the couple kissing.

She went out of air, as her chest hurt deeply.

She knew his Don Juan fame, but she never expected witnessing that at work.

Angry, crying and desperate, she left the place back to her post.

Sitting on the chair and looking at her suitcase, recomposing herself she stood up quickly and looked at Chris' cabin door.

Loading all the current happenings that made her feel the worse of the people, she recollected her thoughts from the previous night.

"I am no man's mistress. I am no man's play. I am no man's trash!  
My name is Katerina" she repeated with herself

Soon after, she inhaled deeply and fixed her uniform. Lifting her chin up and looking straight. With a firm step given, she walked to the door. With permission she entered.

"I accept your offer"

Those were going to be two long weeks…

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

Some days passed since Christopher and Katarina split.

Their separation was the hot topic of the kingdom among the nearby population of the main castle. Despite people not really commenting about them in public. Christopher headed to Edonia to spend some time, while Katarina remained in Bohma "treating" Charles with the miraculous black herb.

"Do you feel any difference so far with the treatment?"

"I do. Almost no pain or weakness… I owe you my recovery."

She smiled delighted. She loved being praised, "Yes you do!" she thought

"So, did you think about my proposal?" the king asked as they were sitting on a bench in the labyrinth garden

"As a matter of fact, I did"

"And what's your decision?"

"Not going to happen!" she said coldly

"Why not? It's a good deal…"

"I am no man's object! No king's mistress! You were weak when you married your boring queen, now take it that you lost me!"

"I was forced by my father" he replied

"And I always loved Christopher, my husband!"

"He's not your husband. Everybody knows you're not together"

"Every couple has difficult phases. This is just another phase we will go through and surpass soon, in fact, we are not even divorced."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I do!" she spoke with firmness

He made an objection face and looked away.

Soon after, the pair heard footsteps, when they turned to the side they saw the royal doctor Vladimir who came to check the king.

Katarina disguised well her displease, but Vladimir knew how much he bothered her.

* * *

 **Green Hills, Talbot's Land**

Angelique was doing her home chores when among the dirty clothes she found the letters. She remembered she didn't finish reading them, and out of curiosity she decided to read when she finished her chores.

Not long after she started reading, she bursted into tears.

"Katarina…" she spoke in sobs

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **First, I said barrack, but I'm not sure if I really meant that place. I don't know the inside of headquarters. I had thought of using dormitory, but google said that soldiers stay in barrack, so I'm not sure. Please, forgive me if I used the wrong word.**

 **Second, I started the chapter with parts of old chapters. Now I'm already making the connection of the past with the present because we are officially during the transition phase of the story...Soon, the 18th content will be over :) :( and that causes me both feelings xD**

 **I'd like to thank everyone for reading my work, you guys give me the motivation to continue telling this long story :D I know it's long, but I try to always add new stuff to not make it so boring xD**

 **More drama to come!**

 **Stay tuned!**


	43. The End of Arthena

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _There is no victory that is not made up of losses, much less joy that does not come from sorrows._ "

* * *

"My love, why are you so sad?" George Talbot asked noticing his silent wife sitting next to the window with a distant look

Angelique continued looking out the window. A tear cored down her face as her eyes filled with water.

She was devastated inside. She never expected, not even in her darkest dreams, to have her death ordered by someone.

She, who always tried to live pacifically with everyone, despite the hell in her own home. She knew her father and stepmother didn't like her, but they receiving money for her death, being accomplices to such evil plan had been too much for her to bear.

Much less an order by no one and no less…Katarina O'Gregon. The beautiful woman she once admired and respected the power and influence. The woman who claimed to embrace women's cause… almost had blood in her hands.

Her blood.

To deepen her suffering…there was Christopher. The man she most loved married the evil regent. The evil noblewoman. Evil Katarina.

Was he her accomplice too?

Was the father of her firstborn as evil as his noble wife was?

How disgusting! How painful!

She lived more than a lie, a bitter illusion. She lived true hell disguised as paradise.

How fool!

She forbade Oliver to see Christopher since he learned the truth about their blood connection. Yet, they'd be always connected… She had to deal with that.

"Why those people…What did I do to those people hate me so much? Why do I exist? All I've lived is pain, betrayal, lies! Why do I deserve this when I always tried to not harm anyone? This is so unfair!" she murmured

"What happened love? Who are you talking about?"

"Everyone who has hurt me! My father, Amelia, Christopher…Katarina! What did I do to them hurt me so much?"

"Katarina?"

"Yes! Katarina!" she spoke bitterly

"What are you talking about?"

"The letter…I finished reading the letter my late 'father' wrote to me…confessing his crimes"

George grabbed the paper and could not believe his eyes, "Are you sure it's his?"

She nodded in confirmation, "I know his handwriting"

"Could be a mistake…his last attempt to hurt you…"

"What about the bitch's necklace?"

He shrugged speechless

"It's not a coincidence…they had a pact to kill me! My questioning is…why? What did I do to them? To Katarina? I didn't even know her!"

George rolled his eyes letting out a sigh, "Christopher…" he spoke in a tone of it was obvious Katarina's motives to hurt her

"What would he win with my death? Why didn't he kill me all the times he had the chance when we…we were alone?"

"Maybe your father hired him but he ended up getting involved…"

"I saved that bastard's life! It doesn't make sense he being hired for the way I found him! He could've had died!"

"Maybe you should've let it…Now you know the type of person he is…Maybe it was a mistake of calculation…"

"I gave him my best and my all! I faced my own hideous family for him…for "our love"… such a lie!"

"I never liked him…"

"My biggest mistake! And the more I try to find an explanation, I don't seem to find the answer! If he was hired by my father, Amelia or whoever else…they pretended very well not knowing each other when I introduced them! And I was so blind to see that!"

"You were young…"

"I was a fool! And that son of a bitch even came to our house! Now I understand why he seemed so surprised to see I'm alive! No wonder why he never returned to talk or understand after that… if he really loved me, he should have been more interested in knowing how I survived, right?"

He made a face of agreement

Angelique squeezed her hands tightly, "I never knew I was capable of feeling such a powerful feeling like I am now…"

"What feeling?"

"Hate!" she almost screamed, "I never thought I could hate anyone like I hate him right now! All of them! But I hate him more for all the things he made me feel, he made me believe! He played with me…he took away my innocence! He turned my few sweetest dreams into nightmare!" she broke into tears

The Talbot's head family, affected by his wife's suffering, took her into a tight comforting embrace, "My love…I understand how much you're suffering, but don't feed this feelings…it's not good for you, and worse for our baby" he placed his hand on her belly, "Think that life separated you for a good cause. You thought it had been a bad thing, but…the truth came out and brought us together, made you stronger…you proved you're better than them! You don't need them!"

"It's not easy Geo…I never felt this before…it's too much to bare…"

"You're pregnant…naturally more sensitive…more emotional… you can cry all you want, if you want to scream, scream it, if you want to break dishes, break it…but don't keep it in yourself. Let it out"

"I want to forget it…I want to wake up from this nightmare and not feel this agonizing pain in my chest…my soul is broken… I'm broken…" she spoke in between sobs hiding her face on his chest as she hugged him tight as she trembled

"I know my love and this is tearing me apart too…" he tried to tranquilize her, "I'll bring you a glass of water and you should try to rest. I'll stay here with you all the time"

"Don't leave me G…" she whispered defeated

"I won't!"

They remained in silence for a while, until Angelique felt more recomposed.

"I feel like unmasking the stupid couple!" there was anger in her voice

"People love them…they wouldn't believe you" George tried to reason with her

"I have these evidences!"

"Useless…they can deny. They have the power… you'd better just ignore them"

"Are you telling me to stay quiet?"

"I'm telling to avoid unnecessary trouble…you're pregnant!"

"I don't know if I'm that strong… and let them unpunished"

"They might stay unpunished…but not triumphant. I'll make sure to tell Christopher some harsh words that he'll never forget! And he'd better not try to punish me or I myself expose him!"

Angelique was too broken to respond to her husband. The broken scenario crossed her brain over and over, draining her. she never felt so betrayed in her life. She never felt so little in her life.

Getting over a heartbreak was something, but overcoming a deadly alliance was another different thing. Her heart beat so strong in her chest, that she could hear it in the silence. She could feel it almost jumping out. Her blood coring so strong heated her body. Her head starting to spin. She was in her limit. The verge to continue conscious.

Too much pressure to the sensitive redhead.

The dark days were back.

The difference she wasn't a teenage now. She was a mother of two little boys, and carried another angel in her womb. She wanted, and needed to be strong for them.

But not now…

She couldn't just ignore the recent findings.

She wanted to forget it. She Needed to forget it. It was for her own self-safety. Her sanity.

Suddenly her mind lost control of its senses, and the redhead passed out on George's embrace.

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia**

How this place is so empty without their noises. Without life. So many years hearing children noises, cries, laughter, jokes, and now only the sound of the wind passing through the open windows and my own footsteps when I walk, when I move. I hear my own breath.

I admit there were times I have longed for solitude to refresh my mind, to balance my feelings, and now with my desire fulfilled, I feel regretted. Loneliness that scares me.

I miss their voices calling me, daddy, daddy, daddy!

When I was at home, there was always a reason to call me, to tell me something, for me to intervene in their fight, or for me to see something they wanted to show me. There was always a reason for me to pay attention at them. And I loved to give my full attention to my beloved children. They cheered up my bad days somehow...

I miss the sweetness of Maddy, my dear girl Lilly, Philly's playfulness, and Beau's joy and innocence.

It' wasn't already enough for me to be away from my eldest son, Olly...

And as much as it hurts me to admit, my wounded pride... I also miss the remarkable presence of Katarina... I never thought I would miss that spoiled brat but at the same time a woman of strong fiber. Imposing... cunning with life, and cunning to know how to hurt me as well!

Just as Angelique hurts me now that she's pregnant with that stupid marquis!  
It should be our story, not theirs!

I know I have no right feeling this way about them…after all, he has raised my son very well. I'm aware of how much Olly likes him and respects him. In the bottom of my heart, I do respect that marquis for being so good to my Angely and to my firstborn boy.

And in this immense empty palace "I enjoy" the solitude of the empty nest. I live the anguish of the empty nest.

The O'Gregon-Reed is not the family I dreamed of, but they are my home.

I want them back... by my side...

I want my life back…

The routine back.

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, Bohma**

"Little he did know the dark times that would follow after this letter of confession. Little he did know what awaited him.

And today, in August of 2011, I've witnessed the hard and lonely man he became... The women he most loved, turned him into this sentimentally dry man. Skeptical in love. Disillusioned with family.

So distant and opposite from that Christopher so devoted to his home. So devoted to his family.

All that was left of him was his impulses that do not always work for him.

There is still much work to be done. Many encounters to be rescued. Many feelings to be forgiven. Many situations to overcome.

And today I wonder if I will even be able to cause some spark of change?"

Mr. Lionel's daydreams were interrupted by the sudden visit of the beautiful redhead Angelina, who carried on her face a countenance of contemplation. Of questions.

"Sit down, my dear, tell me what happened"

"I had a strange dream, but it seemed to be so real... it made me wonder if past lives exist... do you believe that?"

You nodded slightly, "I do. And I believe that some dreams show us this distant past of our trajectory."

"Then why don't we remember past lives?"

"We don't remember the past lives and that is the wisdom of God.  
If we remembered the evil we have done or the sufferings we have suffered, the enemies that have harmed us or those whom we have harmed, we would not be able to live among them today.  
For often, the enemies of the past, today are our children, our siblings, our parents, our friends, who are now with us for reconciliation. That's why there is reincarnation.  
Certainly, today we are correcting errors committed against someone, suffering the consequences of crimes perpetrated, or even being supported, aided by those who, in the past, have harmed us. Hence, the importance of the family, where it is customary to resume the ties cut in previous existences. And so it is so important to forgive those who we don't sympathize and also to ourselves for our mistakes towards them and towards ourselves."

The young redhead became pensive and remembered her dream.

"Tell me Angie, what did you dream about?"

"Something that doesn't seem to make any sense"

"Tell me, you know how much I like to listen to nonsense things" he said playfully

She was embarrassed, "I dreamed I was Katarina's sister... she had feelings for a fisherman and they wanted to run away together. But apparently I also liked him in secret... And end up ruining their plan, and during the escape, Katarina had an accident and died... And I never forgave myself for that accident although sometimes it seemed that I had conflicting thoughts as I met him first, but she seduced him and took him."

Mr. Lionel made the face, and before he could say anything, Angelina continued the story.

"But it doesn't make any sense to me... How could it be Katarina if I don't even know her, except through the paintings of Angelique? And even if it was her, Katarina was a nobleman, obsessed for Christopher... even though that fisherman looked more alike BSAA's Chris... it doesn't make any sense!"

"Perhaps the order is another Angie... maybe you and Katarina were sisters in another experience, but your brain related to her image in the paintings because it is the most "recent" image that you recognize more easily, or even your sister and Katarina are the same soul in different life existences... and the fisherman and Chris BSAA are the same soul too... why not?" he questioned her

"Because that would be crazy!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't like Katarina and I did like the sister in my dream! What Katarina did to the people of Edonia, of Bohma, destroyed an entire city because of her ambition! For obsession for control, power! For selfish desires! People died because of her! Not to mention what she did to Angelique! She went over everything and everyone; including the man she said she loved the most! And how about what she did to an innocent child... a little being who had no chance against the perversity of that monster!" Unconsciously her hand went down to her stomach level, "Maybe the only thing worthy in all this story is what Christopher when he faced her and gave that blow to the devil O'Gregon! But unfortunately bad pot doesn't break easy, does it? And I add more Mr. Lionel, and with all respect for you as you seem to have some affection for that woman... If it is true that there are multiple lives and god's justice, I hope Katarina suffers a lot to pay for everything she did, because it would be very unfair she continue having the facilities she always had and abused of it to harm other people!"

Angelina's emotionality was evident with regard to the facts about Angelique and the innocent child... He understood the young redhead's revolt. He did not disagree with her explanation. He might even have some affection for Katarina, after all, he had more answers than he could reveal unwisely. He knew the other side of the story... And he knew very well the reflexes of that damned existence of the 18th century... How he knew!

"Angely... it's not a matter of affection... it's a matter of Law of Return. I'm sure that whatever we want to someone returns to us, whether it's good or bad. Each one pays for what they have committed even if they don't remember, but nothing is by chance and no harm goes unpunished to life... It makes rounds... I'm sure that Katarina was not exempt from the evils she did, yet it's not up to me to be an eternal judge. Nor you. To forgive is not to agree to the crime. To forgive is to get rid of the negative feeling that is cultivated within us and that makes us ill and often we do not realize the real cause is the accumulation of negative feelings and/or thoughts... because nobody is free of mistakes, of imperfections. And who judges, is also judged... I understand your revolt and I do not disagree on some points... I myself have been through many things that at first didn't result in pardon, but as time passed, I saw how much I was wasting time keeping that negative feeling inside me... just as there have been many times that I have made mistakes and I have not been forgiven... And then, how does it stay? We will be forever in this cycle of one doing, the other doing, then one does again, hence the other too... will we stay like this forever? It gotta stop at some time. And he who stops the cycle first, the one who forgives first is the stronger, the wiser, because they has already understood the lesson... however they'd better not repeat the same error, otherwise, the weight of the error gets bigger... so it's no use complaining. Gotta do different for the cycle to stop... so the victim's pardon is as noble as the tormentor's request for forgiveness. The victim sets free, and the tormentor will still have to deal with their own conscience later... and that makes me think about your dream... could it be a form of message about such a situation? In one moment you committed the mistake, in the other Katarina, despite of so many more mistakes that she might have committed, both have mistaken one with another... the cycle remains, and I will confess to you Angie... I was worried when you uttered those words of hatred for Katarina."

"Maybe I overdid it when I said hating, but I do not really like her... and after all you said, I ask you, do you believe I'm really involved in this cycle with Katarina?"

"I don't doubt. Why discredit it completely?"

"Because it's crazy! No matter how much I have considered this idea and searched for information about it, it is still a crazy thing to believe. Knowing what she did to all that population..."

"What if it was not her fault?" He said calmly

Angelina paused for a while, "Is there any proof that it was not her fault?"

"Yes"

"Then why do not you report it? Why do you still let people believe in her bad fame?"

"Because the truth is not supposed to be imposed. People only believe in what suits them. And in the end, people will never forget her faults, her crimes... the truth doesn't change the past. It does not alter what is already done"

He was convinced. He had lived for a long time to witness the societies, the various types of people.

The human being. He had reached a point in his life that he already knew that he could not save the world and this no longer hurt him the way it did once upon a time...

He no longer cared about the judgment of others.

His self conscience alone was enough.

* * *

 **18** **th** **Century**

 **Unknown Location, Arthena**

"I think it's about time we make a field experiment" Albert commented

"What kind of field experiment?" William asked

"Observe how the puppets behave among the people, and gather more guinea pigs for the great experiment…"

"And what about Katarina and Christopher? Do you still have intentions to use them?"

"Of course! Especially Christopher. Let's see how brave and good he is in battlefield…"

"And Katarina?"

"That stupid woman is still useful. She's a true proof that the black herb does work…and the next experiment is to test its power of re…"

They heard a loud noise. The men turned their faces simultaneously in its direction. They took whatever they could use as a weapon and walked slowly to investigate it. However, they didn't go much far, from afar they spotted the army of puppets leaving their cage.

Caught off guard, they didn't notice a pack of dogs behind them, cornering them.

Albert looked in the direction of a distinct scepter at the bottom of the chamber. He touched his pocket; there were two pills. He thought of giving one to William. Those pills were their only chance to survive the attacks that soon after happened.

William had no chance against their attacks and succumbed to his injuries, while Albert, even severely injured, managed to reach the scepter; however his plan didn't go accordingly as he couldn't control the dogs as he expected. He had no chance against the dog's final group attack.

The following day, their wives found the scientists' mutilated bodies and some notes about their experiments.

* * *

 **Castle of Edonia**

Early in the morning, Christopher was awaken by knocks on the door of his bedchambers. He didn't take long to open it.

"Your Majesty, I apologize to disturb your sleep this way, but one messenger from Arthena brought us bad news" Leonard Keane spoke

"What happened?"

"Their army needs reinforcements. A large group of rebels attacked a village nearby the Forbidden Grout. Most of the population were killed. Lots of injured and severely injured. Very few survivors. The last update was that they could be marching on foot to the great desert…"

"They're heading to the center of the town"

"Yes, and I have alerted Pierce to watch the boarders and the Great River in case some rebels may try to invade through there, and I have also sent a messenger to inform the king about the whole situation"

"Good, but we also need to secure the population from knowing about that. We don't need to cause more commotion"

"Yes, agreed"

"Prepare my horse and armory, and reunite the special knights to come with me to Arthena"

"Are you going too?"

"Yes! I am the leader and front man to secure the king and the kingdoms safety. I cannot just sit and wait for news"

"Alright…"

"You also stay alert in case we need reinforcements"

"Yes your majesty"

* * *

 **Castle of Bohma, O'Gregon Bedchambers**

Katarina was facing a large wooden trunk, full of black glass bottles containing the forbidden black pills. Hearing knocks on the door; she immediately closed the trunk and covered it with a cape.

"Your majesty" Lucy entered evidently altered in concern alongside Nicholas Keane

"What are you doing here?" Katarina asked staring at the man

"I don't have good news" Nicholas said

"About what?"

"Your husband"

"What about him?" Katarina asked with preoccupation

"He's on his way to battle in Arthena"

"What? Is there a war in Arthena?"

"Apparently there will be…There's a group of rebels…weird rebels"

"Weird rebels?"

"Yes…apparently they're very resistant and act abnormally…"

"As in?" Katarina asked

The man inhaled making a face, "They're experiments of Albert and William…"

Katarina gasped, "What?"

"Those rebels killed them yesterday"

"Is Albert dead?" Katarina frowned in surprise

"Yes, both Walker brothers are dead. Victims of their own work"

Katarina didn't know what to say

"I sent messages to the nearby villages and provinces before I came here because you may be capable to stop the rebels"

"Why me?"

"Because of one the black herb effects"

"What do you mean?"

"The element they used in them, are found in the same place the Black Herb grows…in the Forbidden Grout, and according to one of Albert's notes, there's a relation between them. He didn't enter in details as he was still studying it, but he intended to continue using you for their greatest experiment."

"What the hell are you talking about? Am I part of his experiment?" she spoke in scare

Nicholas made a face, "Apparently yes, but a different experiment"

"What kind of experiment?"

"To learn all the Black Herb's effects and side-effects"

Katarina needed to sit, as she didn't feel well learning the truth, "He lied to me! He said it was a medicinal herb, used for regeneration of the skin, to prolong the beauty…It even cured Charles! I did not think he was using me as a guinea pig!"

Nicholas made a face, "He didn't lie about those effects. He only told you half of the truth"

"Bastard! I am glad he died!" she shouted, "That is what happens when anyone tries to harm me, fate punishes them! I am Katarina the Enlightened, God's chosen one!"

"And how do you know all that?" Lucy asked him with a serious face, "How did you have access to such secretive notes?"

Nicholas didn't feel threatened by the lady-in-waiting's suspicious, "I went there some time after they were attacked. I had to deliver them a part of the payment her majesty always donates to them. I managed to hide and not be seen by any of them, the rebels nor the dogs that killed them. I also retrieved the weapon that might be used against them. It's kept down there alongside my horse"

"You should have brought with you. Someone may inspect it!" Katarina said

"I covered it in a way no one will suspect of it"

"Does Charles know about that?"

"Yes milady, I heard one messenger talking to him and he's very concerned too"

"Does he know about the experiments?"

"No, he doesn't know anything about it. I preferred telling that only to you as you have the power to stop them"

"What if I cannot?" Katarina questioned

The man shrugged, "Then may god have mercy on us…"

They stayed in silence for a while, "Let me read his notes so I can know what to do to stop them" Katarina broke the silence

Katarina didn't take long to have an idea. She hoped she was right in interpreting the late scientist' instructions, and prayed she was capable to really make the difference.

.

.

" _My name is Katarina, my mother's first child, my father's darling, my sister's favorite. I was the dream of another's. In the center of a faraway land, I was the dream of a prince_ _. The fresh flower of a man, the almond tree that has not seen the storm, the sea without wave... The dream of a city in a capital city of a kingdom. Bitter land? Who says it is time to open the crocodiles? When does a child grow up? What does a child grow up with? Milk, honey? I saw and learned in the palace... I saw in the palace the grief in the greatest riches of the world, the darkness in the radiance of the greatest jewels, the wickedness behind the most beautiful surrogates... the deep, clear, pure and sublime heart as the waters in the mightiest ruler... Even when the rainfall is avoided, I am ready to sacrifice myself now..._ _My past is devouring, despair and death_ _... One day is the price of a life. I have returned and recreated myself. I am coming. It is a red rose that is fading in the sky. Goodbye child, goodbye past. I am ready to give life to love. I am Katarina Reed O'Gregon… I will say hello to the sky for the first time... Fire rivers flowing in my gardens, I come to bring out star lights myself in my eyes. I wear a love armor and chest, my innocence is a sword, I will walk over the cores. I will change the fates, write the future, I am coming to leave my mark!_

 _Until this day, I have not been afraid of anyone and I will not be this time!_ "

* * *

Upon arriving in Arthena, Katarina noticed the commotion of the population in the central plaza. The despair in their faces and manners.

With her imposing figure, they opened space for her to pass by them, followed by some guardians.

Standing in front of the central fountain, she inhaled deeply and kept an imposing posture and called their attention.

"Whoever wants to say whatever they want, may they say it to my face, without fear!"

"They say you caused the rebels' disaster" a man said

"Yes, is it true, why do you do it?" another man agreed with the man

"Do not believe such things. They are all lies."

"How do we know you're telling the truth? We do not have any faith left in you. You abandoned us!"

"Unfortunate. Very unfortunate. Maybe some of you had not been born but I have shielded this state with my own life! I came from another land. My name was something else, my language was different, and my culture was different! I loved your seas, the winds here. I loved your southwest winds! I always protected my children. I loved the people, the people! I loved you. I loved the children and women. I always loved the elderly, the needy. I saw death and almost died myself! Still I never left any of you hungry. Never left you poor and needy, not even in my absence!"

A more polite gentleman said, "Your majesty, please forgive us, we have great respect for you but the rebels, the disasters have not stopped coming down upon us and afterwards the punishments and prohibitions. We have lost our way, forgive us"

"I am here! I will solve this! Now leave this town with your families and stay in a safe place. I will stay here! As the former governor of the province. Do not be afraid. Do not worry. I give you my word –your lives, your wealth and even your honor is under my protection!"

After the lecture, Katarina headed to the Central Church alongside a group of royal soldiers.

* * *

Christopher Reed was not the man to despair of anything, much less the sort who expected a divine solution to his problems. Perhaps because many years ago he had come to the conclusion that he had been abandoned by God, or because experience had taught him that every minute he stopped was one less of life when he was faced with an army of rabid and heavily armed soldiers, especially when some of the soldiers in question were on horseback and he was not.

Several escape routes had passed through his head, more for safety than for any desire to escape – again -, because if there was one thing everyone knew about him was that he never ran away from a good fight since his return to the court. Even when the opponent had a twenty to one advantage. And then everyone knew that the harder the battle, the better the reward, at least that was what he and many others thought of it. For this reason, he regarded with calm and naturalness the desertion of the leader of the troop.  
He finished loading his fire gun and positioned himself to aim at the head of a soldier who was in front of the others.

"Hold the position!"

He noticed from the corner of his eye a strange movement at his side.

"Firm!" He shouted once more for the troop to hear him

As he turned his eyes forward and saw the army of soldiers even closer, he was sure that before he gave the order to shoot, many other soldiers would follow the example of the old knight of another province and run to hide in some hole in the ruins behind them. He knew exactly who would be the first to do it. He did not have to wait long to see a fire gun fly and see a soldier running off in the direction the old knight had taken, so at least ten other men were chasing after him. But there was no time to pay attention to the cowards, especially since the rabid soldiers had chosen that moment to start firing.

"Fire!" He still managed to scream before throwing himself to the ground to deflect an almost accurate shot

Shots and daggers flew in all directions. Those who had previously remained in position were now running to save their lives. The moment of "every man for himself" had arrived in record time. The blood and the bodies of the front men stained the earth. The angry soldiers passed through them as devastating and ruthless as a cloud of locusts destroying a plantation. If Christopher thought that God was not with him, he had every reason to be sure that Devil was with the bloody foes.  
He threw the rifle that was accompanied by a detachable bayonet in the chest of a soldier, but as he imagined, he did not get the reaction he wanted since the strange soldier seemed to feel no pain or to be immobilized by wounds.

"Shit!" He drew a flintlock and shot the same immortal soldier as he tried to run backwards

He had not gone very far, trying to reload the gun, when he tripped over a body. The fall caused the weapon to fly from his hands. He looked around expecting to see some enemy ready to kill him. Christopher Reed would never be accused of lying down and waiting for death.

At that moment, Christopher heard a low, high-pitched sound, like a groan. He turned quickly and saw a dead man feeding on another dead body.

"What the fuck?"

He jumped up and ran as fast as he could in the direction of a large statue. He knew he was being chased; he could feel the ground tremble with the rush of angry soldiers and heard the ominous sound of the tongues of the enemies snarling like a macabre salute to death.

When he finally reached the statue, he was weak. He threw his body against the stones of the image in the vain hope of making a secret passage appear, or who knows, the ground opening and swallowing the enemies. But the only thing that happened was to be surrounded by twenty creatures under the sight of rifles with bayonets and scythes. He decided to use the last seconds of life to exchange a few words with the Lord.

The moment he closed his eyes he heard the sound of the rifles being cocked, knowing he would not have much time, he chose to make a request, "Sorry to bother You, I know You must be very busy since You obviously are not here. I know, and the Lord knows too, that I do not believe You exist, but if You're willing to prove otherwise the moment is this... I think it's just... hum... Amen"

He heard a distant ring of bells.

He opened his eyes boldly, willing to see death face to face, but found only the deserted spot and the silence. The strange soldiers were walking away. He looked around still in disbelief, and ran to a higher part of the ruins and saw the enemy army getting away quickly; he shook his head completely stunned and looked up. He could still hear the strange ring of bells at distance.

"I think it's a thank you..."

He thought it was best not to sit around waiting to see what would happen. He ran away from the ruins and back into town. The fact that he had not even taken a horse passed through his head. As he ran, he could hear strange sounds mingling with moans. Explosions. It was as if the earth was moving beneath his feet. An explosion took place next to his feet and a wave of land covered him, he barely had time to jump to the side before two new explosions happened. Hand grenades.

"Christopher, get out of there! Hurry!"

He heard the voice of Pierce at the top of a hill, along with other soldiers and several guns placed to shoot the strange creatures. He followed the rest of the way to them, never looking back.

"What are these creatures? They don't die!" Christopher grumbled

"Katarina knows how to destroy them. She drew the others to the great church. You go to the church to support the troops that are already there. I and the others will take care of these ones here and destroy the Forbidden Mine"

"Pierce..."

"Go! Get my horse. You have to get there before them!"

* * *

 **Arthena's Center**

Leonard, Cathy, and Jillian removed the remaining people from their homes and settlements to empty the town of Arthena before the arrival of the strange soldiers.

Christopher arrived in the besieged city. A deadly silence. He headed for the great church.

Katarina was waiting at the altar with a strange scepter in her hand. Soldiers were stationed in every corner of the church below and in the upper levels, ready to attack the enemies at the right time.

"What are you holding?" he asked

"The bait that will draw them in and keep them standing for the ambush while the other soldiers shoot at their heads"

"How do you know that?" He questioned her

At that moment, they heard the signal that the strange soldiers had arrived.

"Get a gun and shoot them in the head, but wait for my warning!" Katarina ordered her husband

Strange soldiers lined up to sit on the wide wooden benches to pray. Like they were at religious mass.

Hypnotized.

Everyone waited patiently one by one to sit down. Paralyzed, Katarina raised the scepter and the extermination began.

Katarina threw the scepter on the ground and set fire on it.

They all left the church and watched the place in complete blaze for a while. Watching the flames spread, all the soldiers, Katarina, Christopher, and the others left the city.

A strange smoke spread through the alleyways of the city, and a strange cloud of rain formed in the sky. The heavy rain erased the burning church. It flooded the river that made connection between Arthena and Edonia that served of division of the territories. The river flooded the city, extinguishing the flames and leaving a trail of immense destruction.

It was the end of the strange rebels. The end of Arthena.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **Phew! That was a long one! Thank you all for reading my piece :D**

 **It's official, only two more chaps to end the 18th! Be prepared, I might update quick this time! And also be ready to read long chapters!  
**

 **I'd like to add that I don't know if you noticed, but sometimes Mr. Lionel calls Angelina in two ways: Angely and Angie. It's not a mistake of mine! I write that way on purpose :D**

 **Very soon we will find out the old man's secrets...whuahuaha**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	44. What Goes Around Comes Around

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

" _Resentment, hatred, self-pity, guilt, anger, depression, jealousy and so on, even the slightest irritation, are all forms of suffering. And every pleasure or emotional elevation contains within itself the seed of pain_." ( _Eckhart Tolle_ )

" _Anger and jealousy cannot lose sight of their objects of love._ " ( _George Eliot_ )

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, BSAA HQ**

By the end of the day, Piers was on his way to his car when he heard more people in the parking lot. He recognized the talking voices of a man and a woman - Chris and Kate respectively - and then he hurried into the car. In the distance, he watched the pair as they headed toward Chris's car.

He watched as Chris tucked Katerina's suitcase into the trunk of the car as the young brunette entered the passenger side.

One more rumor confirmed - Katerina and Chris were really much closer!

He bit his lip. As much as he knew that he and Kate were not exclusive of each other, her supposed relationship with his boss bothered him. He could not say what really bothered him.  
Jealousy? Maybe, though, because he knew Katerina a little better, he felt Katerina was not a good influence for Chris. Katerina was too free for Chris's conservative spirit, and it surprised him that some time ago, Chris was the person advising him to be careful in getting involved with the beautiful brunette, and now he himself did not follow his own advice!

Katerina was good for a good time, for the fun, she was young and had a lot to live on yet. She didn't seem to be the type to fall in love and commit herself to only one person, after all she was still trying to keep in touch with him, the evidence was the many calls and messages he chose to ignore when he learned of the rumors of their involvement.

Besides, Katerina had many mysteries around her. She did not like to talk about intimacy, she did not talk about her family, about her past. He only knew of the existence of three people she had contact with: the best friend Lucy, the troubled brother Vlad, and the uncle who was the real owner of the apartment where she lived.  
And knowing Chris, he knew he did not like lies and omissions. He was a sentimentally reserved man, but he was the honest sort. He didn't lie about his thoughts or feelings.  
But Chris was a man and not the type to cry like a baby. He was single again and Kate could give him not exactly a consolation, but she could give him distraction. Fun. Maybe that was what brought them together.

While Cathy wanted marriage and exclusivity; they were practically living together. And Chris until he met her, didn't think about it. He demonstrated that he enjoyed living solitary in his apartment; or when he went fishing.

Analyzing them better now, maybe Chris and Kate past the initial difference, in fact could have much in common.

Even against their relationship, it was not for him to judge the choices of his superior, and only move ahead with his life.

He started the engine and left the BSAA building to meet his new love interest: Merah Biji.

* * *

 **Chris' Apartment, Early Evening**

The drive home was silent except for the sound of the radio playing. Chris and Katerina remained silent throughout the ride.

In a delicate moment of Katerina, the atmosphere between the pair resembled that of the first time they met and the first time he had given her a lift.

There was a block of ice between them.

If it were not for the need, Katerina would not be there.

Chris parked the car in his exclusive parking spot in the underground garage, and took Kate's suitcase out of the trunk.

Katerina followed him quietly into the elevator.

"I'm sorry for the mess, my house cleaner lately has not had a specific day to come, and generally only comes once a week so it might be messy" he warned a little blandly before opening the apartment door

Katerina smiled amiably, "Don't worry Chris, that's no problem for me, besides, I'm the intruder here and I just have to thank you for everything you've done for me"

He smiled back, opened the door and reached inside to flip the light switch.

Kate entered and stared around. It was not a big apartment, but not so small. There was a comfortable atmosphere of living room, dining room and kitchen. It was what her field of vision allowed her to see at that moment, but something caught her eye, where was the supposed mess he had commented on? The place was as neat and clean as the apartment she lived in! Slob was Piers!

Chris led the way down the hall to the room she would stay.

A normal room with a bed, a drawer, a desk, a computer and a television. All clean.

"The door at the left is my bedroom, and the other door is the bathroom that you can use whenever you want and need. Make yourself comfortable and don't be shy or awkward to use the kitchen, the computer, you can go out whenever you want… and doesn't hesitate calling me if you need anything and don't mind if you see me spending more time in my bedroom, it's a habit of mine, but don't take it as if you're bothering me… Welcome home, Kate"

She smiled, "Alright, thanks"

"I'm going to take a quick shower and change, you can do the same before we go eat"

"Oh, I prefer showering after cooking…"

"Cooking?"

"Yeah…it's dinner time…you don't eat this time of the day?"

"Yeah, but you don't need to cook…We can order something or we can go out and eat something…"

"Oh, alright, let's do things your way…so I'll take a quick shower too"

He gasped, "My way? I only suggested ideas for our dinner because…if I'm not wrong, I don't think there's much home…I forgot to do the groceries…"

She laughed, "It's alright Chris. It happens…I just wanted to say that I don't mind cooking…I actually like it"

"Ah, good! I'll want to try your meal…but not tonight"

"Sure!"

* * *

Chris and Kate walked on foot on the local commerce on their way to Chris' favorite spot, and also Chris showed some local spots in the neighborhood for Kate to locate if she felt like exploring someday. Kate notices a sudden icy wind and comments with Chris

"It suddenly passed a cold breeze, do you feel it?" Kate commented crossing her arms

"Yeah…Probably because this part has a small local park…" he replied as they continued walking and at distance, they saw a lonely old woman sitting on a chair with small table before her, near a light pole.

"Do you want me to read your fortune?" the woman asked as they passed by her

"No, thank you" Chris replied with a nearly dry tone

"It's free…" the woman teased

"No, thanks" Chris replied again

Kate looked at the woman who stared her in a strange way. Katerina even felt uncomfortable with her gaze, as if reading through her

"Wait…" Kate said showing interest in what the woman could say

"The young lady wants to know her future…" the woman said

"Kate, come on. Let's go" Chris said looking back

"It's free…why not try it?"

"I'll be quick…" the woman replied

Chris rested his hands around his waist and walked away a little, letting out a sigh. A defeated sigh.

"What the young lady may like to know?"

"Whatever you can tell me"

"Do you prefer the cards tell you or your hand?"

"I guess my hands will be quicker, right?" she said pointing her face at Chris at distance, "I don't want to piss him off…"

"You have influence on him…a strong connection…As I saw you walking, I could see the encounter of souls"

"He's just my boss"

"It doesn't mean there's no connection at all"

Kate made a face.

The woman continued examining her hands, "And I can see a karmic encounter…bonds from previous lives…where there was a lot of love, and turbulences too…lots of jealousy, pride, resentment…hatred"

"I told you he's just my boss! We're not intimate…"

"But I'm not talking only about him…but a general scenario…it's in your hands"

"Ah, sorry… What else do you see?"

"A strong personality. You don't give up easily, you're determined and somewhat competitive. You give your best to everything you do, the problem is that you feel that you don't get what you want and you have to deal with a deep dissatisfaction…all fruit of the past choices…"

Kate was moved by those words, they were true. She really felt like nothing worked for her. There was always something that blocked her success.

"And how do I change that?"

"You have to be patient…You came from a past of abundance…but you certainly will succeed in your career. You're a hard worker…just play fair and things will start to fix to you"

"What about love?"

"You dream of having a family and finding your prince charming…but fairy-tales are only good because they don't show the after the marriage that usually ends the story. They don't show life continues and so the ups and downs. They don't show the routine after the bliss of enchantment of the start of the relationship, when princes and princess become frogs. Real people…they don't show the pain of labor, the waken nights sitting the babies, raising the children…Still…you feel the need to share your life with your ultimate lover"

"And will I find him?"

"Yes, and he's not that far…"

"Can you tell who he is?"

"All you have to do is to lower the wall of pride to see him"

Kate laughed, "And will we be happy?"

"No relationship is free from conflicts and conflict does not necessarily have to be something bad."

"Meaning?"

"Enduring happiness is an impossible goal, for the simple fact that absolutely nothing in life is permanent. As the seasons of the year follow each other in an endless cycle, our cells are renewed every moment.  
Life is synonymous of change, therefore, things will never remain unchanged, and we will always be adapting to these transformations: everything that exists is born, grows, matures, deteriorates and dies. No emotion or feeling is enduring. With happiness wouldn't be different. It will always be coming and going.  
Moreover, everything that reaches its extreme immediately begins to turn into its opposite.  
Then we discover that happiness is not destiny, but rather the path itself - the act of walking."

Kate made a face. Obviously, that was a complicated thing for her to think that moment. In addition, she was feeling uncomfortable in making Chris wait.

"Look…I wish I had more time to ask more things…but I want to ask you something…"

"Sure"

"Does my hand tell you anything about a repetitive dream I have? I remember the first time I dreamt it, I was still a kid. It takes long to repeat, but lately it's repeating with some frequency…and I don't know what to think of it"

"What's your dream about?"

"A young couple who are immensely in love and they make vows of eternal love, but an accident interrupts their plans. Sometimes I have some weird sensations about the accident, other times I don't…but I always see the fisherman and a woman usually at a lake shore… I remember his face so vividly and I usually wake up feeling a strong pain in my chest or in my body when I dream it…a deep sorrow and emptiness that I can't explain…"

The old woman didn't move a muscle of her face and only moved her face to the side, "There's your fisherman" she said almost in a cold way

Kate's eyes widened in surprise and incredulous.

And out of nothing the woman completed, "The miracle you expect will come when the forgiveness and the change of old attitudes happen, because in a not too distant meeting you two failed with each other"

Kate was left speechless, and politely thanked the woman's words.

Rejoining Chris still thoughtful, her mind only listens to his question

"What nonsense thing did she tell you" he asked jokingly

"She actually said some interesting things, but what really made me thoughtful was her opinion on a dream I asked her about, but I don't want to get in detail now…"

"Never mind Kate, forget it. Those people are trained for this, reading body language."

"Why are you so skeptical? Did you ever tried some?"

"Actually I did…when I was much younger…I don't remember much, but I remember the woman saying I had been a fisherman in another life"

Kate's heart almost jumps out from her mouth, and she immediately paralyzed.

"You okay?" he asked looking back

"Yeah…continue…" she said recomposing herself

"The point is…that was obviously a lie and so stupidity she had said that because I was carrying a fishing rod that wasn't even mine…although I do enjoy the practice once or another"

Katerina was speechless. That was a coincidence. Chris was far enough to not have listened to their conversation. Yet, she couldn't remove that from her head the entire dinner, until they returned home.

In his bedroom, Chris opened his email in his laptop and noticed a different sender in name of Mr. Lionel.

"Dear Chris Redfield,

How are you?

I hope you manage to read this email on time.

I don't like being the one to bring the bad news or showing up like this…

Do you still remember of Mr. Lionel from Bohma?

As his personal assistant and best friend, I'm sending you this message in hope that you can pay a visit to Mr. Lionel…His health is not good, in fact, he's in his final days. He keeps mentioning his American friends and I'm contacting all the people he cares immensely so they can say goodbye to him, and also for him to be able to give personally some gifts for you.

I'm sorry for being the bad messenger, but if you can, we'll be glad for your gesture"

Chris didn't think twice and immediately replied the email, and also contacted the BSAA asking if the trip to Edonia could be anticipated.

* * *

 **18th Century**

Arriving at a distant place, already on the border of the province of Arthena, the group separated. Leonard, Jillian and Cathy went to a safe place in the province.

Christopher and Katarina stood in front of the road that would lead to Bohma's castle with a few more soldiers waiting in order to retreat.

Since the separation, this was the first time the couple had been reunited.

"Have you decided what you're going to do now, whether you're going to go back to your house here in Arthena or go somewhere else?" Katarina asked, pretending to be indifferent.

"No. On the one hand I want to stay and find out what happened to Piers, but on the other hand I want to go back to Bohma to see my children, for it is not certain what you did to them by separating them from me like that."

"I did what I had to do"

"Did you do what you had to do? For what? Hurt me and hurt them too? They are my children!"

The soldiers turned away as they realized the mood of the couple.

"Clairy told me that Maddy was sick because of this abrupt separation!"

"Maddy is not even your daughter," she said cynically.

"She is! She has my last name! I was the one who created her, I was the one who took care of her since she was newborn, it was me who woke up at dawn to pay attention to her, I was the one who always defended her from you! I'm more her father than you were her mother! "  
Katarina remained silent and swallowed any response she could reply. It was not worth continuing the discussion on such a worn-out subject.  
"And you owe me explanations"

"I owe you nothing"

"Ah, you owe me many explanations Katarina, especially about what just happened. How did you know how to deal with those strange soldiers? What's your involvement with the Walkers?"

"No Involvement..."

"No Katarina? Would your ambition be so great for you to cause such a tragedy to rise to power once and for all? To be seen as heroine?"

"Shut up Christopher, look what you're accusing me of! If I had known all this, this tragedy would never have happened!"

"Do not lie to me! I'm not the idiot you think I am. I know full well of your secret meetings with Albert!"

"My encounters with him have nothing to do with these creatures! I was as much a victim of him as this city!"

"Oh yes? As in?"

"Because he was using me as a guinea pig with the medicines he provided me!"

"Remedy for that Katarina? I never saw you sick again!"

"Aging is sickness for me! I do not accept the marks of expressions knowing that I can get rid of them with that elixir of youth, and health too? Have not you noticed that your own health and the recurrent stomach pains have ceased?"

"Did you make me take the black pills?" He asked horrified.

"Of course! No one deserves a husband complaining of pain and being unproductive when one has so much work to do. I do not deserve an ugly old husband by my side! You should thank me for improving your health, for I also refused to lose you because of your fragility..."

"I can't believe I'm hearing such words... how absurd!"

"It is absurd to have an unfaithful and ungrateful husband!"

"I am not your husband!" He raged angrily.

She laughed, "Of course it is. Separation of bodies does not annul marriage!"

"This marriage never existed! My only wife is Angelique!"

She rolled her eyes impatiently. That name again. "I do everything I can to not argue, but you just insist on doing everything that hurts me!" She said, trying to control herself to the fullest.

"The only thing that hurts you is the truth, Katarina"

"The idiot redhead is dead, Christopher. Accept this truth!"

He laughed scornfully, and before he could say anything he could regret, he turned his back on her and climbed onto his horse, leaving her behind.

Katarina shouted his name several times, irritated. Very angry. Frustrated. For a moment she thought that the time of separation had softened his impetus, and that it was time for them finally to be reconciled, for she could no longer bear his longing. His absence was already torturing her even if she did not show it. At night, alone, when no one was around, she was crying in his arms. The only way she'd found him was to feel him close to her, to his scent.

He had disappeared on the road to Bohma. It was his duty to report the results of the mission.

Katarina felt more and more that she was losing him.

And that she would not allow. She would fight to the end to continue by his side.

.

.

.

 _That public argument resulted in the reinforcement on Katarina's bad fame._

 _What she took years to build, it was crashing in days._

 _Katarina's name was turning into disgrace._

 _The wheel of life was turning…_

* * *

Some time has passed since the battle of Arthena.  
Piers had been able to return to Bohma to stay with his family.  
With the rumors of Katarina's involvement, the image of the old beloved brunette became more overshadowed, and as Charles recovered his health, he took his place as absolute sovereign of both kingdoms, Edonia and Bohma, while Chris, Piers and Katarina only kept the titles of nobility.

Katarina had reflected on Christopher's longings and had decided to do the right thing: bring the children back home. She and Christopher remained separate, despite their kind of friendly relationship, more than ever, Katarina felt she needed Christopher's support to deal with her name's defamation. And in order to mitigate all the rejection she still received from him, she surrendered to every wish he wanted, even allowed Vladimir to have more contact with his daughter, Maddy, even if the little girl still didn't know the true fatherhood of the doctor.

Christopher was still confused by all the events. He still continued handling the security of the realms at the highest post, alongside Piers.  
He was happy to have the kids around again, all but Olly.  
After returning to Bohma, he had sought out Angelique to resolve their legal situation, but he had heard that the Talbot family had moved to Lake Manor.  
He considered the idea of going to that place to try to talk to Angelique, but ended up preferring to respect the privacy of the family.

And so, a few more weeks passed, and King Charles invited all the nobles for a royal banquet.

Katarina talked to some noble girlfriends

"I do not know how you tolerate his infidelities!"

"It's what men do…they have concubines" a woman said as they talked about marriages

"Because you allow it!"

"Christopher has cheated on you as well…" the woman replied

"Reason why we separated! I do not tolerate it!"

"I thought you reconciled…" another commented

"Not yet. I am giving him all the time he needs to realize we belong together, but he has to be sure and not make the same mistake again because I will not accept his cheating again!"

While Katarina was distracted with her girlfriends, Christopher talked to some friends when he noticed George Talbot waving at him.

"Excuse me…" he said as he followed the man

George and Christopher walked to a more private area at the labyrinth garden

"We need to talk, Christopher."

"About what?"

"You know very well, this conversation should've had happened long ago"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I have anything to talk to you"

"You know this isn't true…you and I have something in common, Angely and Olly"

"Wrong, only Olly…I'm aware Angely has chosen you, but Olly…you gave him your surname"

"He needed a father name, and I could be there for him"

"I know…I know Olly's respect for you, but he's still my son and it hurts me I can't see him as much as I wish"

"You're not forbidden to see him"

"But if feels that way!"

George silenced for a few seconds. He couldn't judge him.

"I'm sorry my tone George, I didn't mean to yell at you"

"I know. No hard feelings here"

"No hard feelings here either. I know you're taking good care of Olly and Angely…"

"And that still hurts you, right?"

"It doesn't hurt me…" Christopher said looking away

George gasped, "Christopher, I'm not stupid. I'm a man and I know things…I know it still bothers you my relationship with Angelique. I know everything that has happened to you. I know of what has happened in the realms all these years. The way you were entangled and manipulated. But with your absence, Angelique and I became very close friends. I saw closely how much she suffered for you"

"I never intended for her to suffer"

"I know that, too, but I was by her side and I could see, more than anyone else, how much Angelique loved you. She spent months devotedly waiting for you, relentlessly. I saw you inside her, almost like a physical presence"

"And you were already in love with her…" Christopher added uncomfortably.

"I won't deny it's hard to see the woman you love suffering for the man to whom she promised eternal love until this man appears marrying another woman… But it doesn't mean I meant to replace you…I never did that"

"For you, I must be like a ghost who has returned to the life of the woman you love," commented Christopher

"You've never been a ghost to me, and you have not returned to Angelique's life. Her life has taken a different turn, by my side. You can be sure that I will always respect your bond to Oliver, above all else. I could never take your place as his father by right and blood"

"If it were not so, we would become declared enemies"

"I do not think it's good to become enemies... But we can have respect for each other in the name of Angelique and Oliver, especially Angely so that she won't suffer more than she has already suffered through all this, do you agree?"

Even though he was upset, Christopher accepted the peace agreement with his rival. "Of course I do, so be it, George, I know you care for Oliver with the same love, but always tell him I am his father, and that I love him very much"

"Nor could it be otherwise. Oliver will always be immensely proud of his fathers. Always!" Agreed the marques

Christopher nodded in agreement and stared the man before him, "George, I want to say from the bottom of my heart that you and Angelique be immensely happy. I learned to admire you. You're an honorable and worthy man. Like a few…" said Christopher

"I also learned to admire you, Christopher. You are a good man and just... I wish you to be very happy too. In the kingdom and in life! Everything in the most perfect harmony, but... be careful with Katarina…"

"I know... I'm aware that she can't know about Olly and Angelique... at least until Angely and I resolve our pendencies, and so I ask you to tell Angelique that I need to talk to her, and before you wonder what is, I'll tell you that it's about our divorce."

George made a face, "Are you really willing to conceive her the divorce?"

"Yes. As much as it hurts to say this… I prefer to respect her choice to stay by your side"

"Were you still hopeful that you could reconcile?"

"I won't deny that I did for a while! I spent years enjoying her ghost and neglecting my relationship with Katarina…"

"You abandoned Angely for Katarina!"

"No... I believed she was dead, for that is what they said to me"

"Who?"

"Her family"

George rolled his eyes.

"I know I was stupid to believe them, even knowing all they did to Angelique... but I didn't think they were capable of so much... I thought they would rather get rid of it by granting marriage permission instead of sent her to the convent, and because of their testimony, her death certificate was granted and our divorce decreed based on her death from illness and so I had no choice but to marry Katarina who claimed to be pregnant with my child... And I swear to you, George, I would never have abandoned Angelique if I had known she was alive and pregnant of me!"

At that moment, George Talbot realized that Christopher had not yet known the truth. He didn't know of the infamous Katarina's involvement in buying Angelique's death, but as things were being resolved amicably, he preferred to remain silent about that fact, after all, with the completion of Christopher and Angelique's divorce, his marriage to red would become legally valid.

"I understand... Anyway, what's done is done. I'll give your message to Angely"

"Thank you. I will be waiting"

* * *

" _Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant_ _or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth._ _Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things._ " ( _1 Corinthians 13_ )

.

.

 **Castle of Bohma, Reed Chambers**

Christopher had enough for that night and returned to his bedchambers after the conversation with George, which put the head of the royal security in a contemplative mood.

At the balcony looking at the dark landscape and sitting on a sofa, the man drank a glass of wine as he reflected about the future of his life.

Without Angelique. Without Katarina…

For a moment, he considered going after Cathy, as after seeing her in Arthena had moved him somehow and aware that he soon would be divorced from Angelique, he'd have his freedom back as his marriage to Katarina didn't seem to have a validation…and that made him have second thoughts.

He took another sip of the liquid, and heard strong footsteps coming closer. Footsteps he knew so well.

He didn't look back but waited the approximation of Katarina wearing a red nightgown with lace in the borders that designed the curves of her body and long loose wavy hair down to her waist, and no makeup. She still wore high heels though, and the cold breeze enhanced her hard nipples showing through the thin fabric. That thin fabric covered her bare skin. He knew that.

Her natural beauty and feminine posture illuminated by the lights of the lamps on the walls gave an extra touch to their atmosphere.

"What do you want?" he asked keeping the distance in his voice, yet his eyes focused on hers

Without a reply, Katarina just made one move and knelt before him and her face looking down, "I am sorry…" that was her reply. Sincerity noticed in her voice tone.

Katarina wasn't the type to kneel to anyone, but him. The man, object of her adoration and love. The only one that was capable to move her pride – not necessarily away, right?

Pride could have two sides. The pride to humiliate to him, and the pride to not let him go.

Rest to know which one was the real case for Katarina – if not true love in their twisted patterns.

"I had not been a good wife to you or a good person with you. I hurt you when I was out of myself and inflicted you pain when I myself was in agonizing pain as I continued reviving the dark past, oblivious to all the goodness you provided me and the dedication you gave to us, and now I live the true agonizing pain of not being by your side. You always stood up for me, for us, but I with that terrible flaw of mine named Jealousy that turns me into a dark person I really am not! But you know what to expect from me, as you have seen my character of a good wife. Suppose I tell you now, what I, in my turn, expect, and how you may best please me and make me happy.—Thus then I begin—Let me ever have the sweet consciousness of knowing myself the best beloved of your heart—I do not always require a lover's attention—that wou'd be impossible, but let it never appear by your conduct that I am indifferent to you… Because I cannot be ever indifferent to you, so I am here humbly begging for your forgiveness and the last chance for us to make things right and work between us"

"We have said "last chance" quite a few times, huh?"

"Only twice…for real…in twelve years, early thirteen"

"And all the times you screwed up. How can I believe this time will be different and the real last chance that will really makes us work?"

"There is no guarantees in love, Chris… but two people that love each other continue working through the adversities until death put them apart, although I believe in eternity I am absolutely sure I will continue loving you forever" she touched his knees as she looked up at him

"I cannot take your jealousy…it suffocates me"

"Are you that perfect, Christopher?"

"There are flaws that are impossible to bear, Kat…and your jealousy breaks us apart and that keeps me insecure on how to deal with you when you insist in seeing things that are not there, that are not real no matter how I try to prove you otherwise!"

"I will work on that! But it is very hard dealing with the thought that I will lose you…any time…"

"You lose me when you listen to your jealousy!"

She looked down and nodded in agreement, "I know…But I…I am willing to work harder in this flaw of mine that corrupts me…" tears cored down her face, "But I need you by my side…" she looked up

They exchanged gazes. His second thoughts before she arrived had showed him the possibility of really trying to commit with Katarina for real. It didn't mean his sweet Angelique would not be important to him anymore, because it was fact she would always have a special place in his life. She was the mother of his son and the person that showed him kindness and a different type of love, lighter, non-possessive. The love of the angels – just like her name and aura.

And before Angelique stepped into his life, there was Katarina. A woman that always moved him in different ways, and someone he always felt connected despite trying to run away several times.

A tougher love, more carnal. More troubled, but so intense that he had showed a side of his that Katarina had embraced like no other, and he was sure Angelique would be scared.

Angelique loved his temperance and sweetness. Katarina loved his darkness and toughness.

In twelve years:

He saw Angelique had become a strong woman – not that she wasn't before – but now she was aware of it.

He saw a tender and insecure side of Katarina behind all the mask of strong and independent woman.

However, Angelique had chosen George Talbot.

He still had Katarina…

And the truth: he missed her. He wanted her back. He missed the temperamental brunette.

In twelve years, they learned to be softer with each other and enjoy it, while mixing with their own darkness. There was a different type of chemistry that united them – a nameless chemistry – a strong bond. Maybe love?

Theories aside, he held her grip and smiled.

She smiled back.

He gently lifted her and pulled her to him, as she sat on his lap.

"Let's be happy now" he said enlacing his arms around her waist

"We will!" she replied enlacing her arms around his neck

They kissed for long minutes. Just kiss. All types of kiss. Their mouths made love like they never did, yet, they felt it so familiar. Savoring their lips, their saliva, their tongues, in slow and tender ways. In more paced moves, wetter. Sucking and nibbling their lips. Tongues. The skin around her lips reddish due to his beard brushing against it. She didn't care. They had no hurry. They missed kissing each other. Tasting each other –upper level for now. Caressing each other with their mouths, with their hands. Exchanging gazes. Smiles. Caressing their hairs.

Kind caresses.

Tender love between beasts.

They still were beasts…

He moved down the strap of her nightgown, releasing her hard nipples from its cage. He cupped her right breast with his left hand, thumbing her nipple, as his tongue licked the left and his lips sucked her left nipple. Nibbling it. And then he treated the right side the same way.

She moaned in his ear. It was like a lullaby.

He missed listening to that.

Her skin shivered with the combination of sensations. The hotness of his mouth and the cold breeze of the night.

But Katarina was a woman of action too and grabbed his hard member through the pants. Teasing him. Caressing him.

It was about time to explore more areas. Savor more skin.

Kneeling down before him again – oh yeah, the only thing that made Katarina O'Gregon kneel if not by lowering pride, was to please her man. And she loved pleasing her man. She missed that!

Releasing him from the cages of his pants, she licked her lips seductively as she looked up with a naughty gaze. But she didn't rush to it.

Why the hurry when the fun could be longer?

She teased him rubbing him. Giving him soft kisses on the head, down the long way to the base and back. With her tongue. With her lips combined with her hand moves.

She released the balls and played with them too, mouthed them. Sucked them. He loved it. She tasted all of him. She savored all of him. She ate all of him. His moans were music to her ears.

She stood up and lifted the nightgown, and then straddled him. It was time for some ride. He cupped her breasts and bit her nipple as he impaled her. She moaned in pleasure as she nailed his back.

They still were beasts that loved it rough. They loved when it hurt. When there were some bleeding…

Their burning skins didn't feel the cold breeze anymore, and the couple didn't mind if anyone could hear their love making in the balcony that wasn't just limited to the sofa. They used the parapet too. The wall.

Until he carried her inside, and as his gun reloaded, it was time to give her the same special treatment. He loved her so bald.

In their private nest, the O'Gregon-Reed made love in several positions of the Kama Sutra.

That night they conceived new heirs to the O'Gregon-Reed clan.

.

.

 _Thanks to Katarina's advanced fertility and age, as we know nowadays, that women after 35 have more tendencies to have pregnancy of multiples. Not a rule of course._

 _Unfortunately, those children of love didn't have much proximity nor memories of their female progenitor because one year and a half after their birth…_

.

.

* * *

 **River Province, Bohma**

" _And it was in that day that I started seeing things differently. I noticed how fragile the dreams are. That day, all those plans we had to share a future. To live in those lands, in those manors, progressively and suddenly changed. We still had the urge to stay together, but the destiny was molding our future – and here I say individual future – in different ways, without even letting us know or understand why the changes. Why not the dreams._

 _That day, my feelings didn't change for you, but I started facing them differently. Somehow, I was realizing that everything we had was been too good to be true and eternal. We could not freeze the time as we expected in the day at the lakeshore._ " _(Angelique's Letter)_

(*)

After having the marriage to Angelique annulled, without Katarina knowing of it, Christopher renewed his marriage vows to Katarina during her pregnancy. It was his way to validate their marriage legality without wakening her suspicions by using the excuse of their reconciliation.

Christopher and Angelique remained friends and told her he kept all her paintings in his land in Arthena that miraculously was spared by the flooding.

Katarina did seem to have changed and they lived a period of extreme happiness with their big family. She didn't control his steps like she did before, and now they lived in the house of her late parents, and where she grew up along with her sister Elizabeth.

Leonard divorced his wife, but continued visiting their child, and married Jillian. They were currently expecting their first child together.

Everything was in extreme peace for everyone, even for Charles that had a miraculous legit heir – probably because his wife drank the "special wine" too.

Bohma's territory was extended and a new province was created, and the most important village was the River Village, where Clairy lived with her new husband. And the place Christopher used as an excuse to meet Angelique and Oliver with more peace, as Katarina didn't know the redhead's real identity, despite knowing Christopher and the former royal painter talked eventually believing it was just a friendship due to the growing proximity of Oliver and Madeline.

Although, Angelique avoided seeing Katarina whenever she could, as every time she recalled The Letter, but then she remembered George's words on the matter, and also the evident Christopher's happiness at the brunette side. So she used all her self-control to not open her mouth about the truth, despite the bothering thought that Christopher being fooled. She hated feeling she was lying to him.

In a spring morning of 1712, Christopher walked to Bohma Grove Trails, a location in the River Province where he usually met Angelique alongside Oliver for occasional picnics or to spend some quality time in family. That location wasn't much far from where Clairy Reed lived.

That place always brought nostalgia to the thirty-eight year old man as he stared the trees around him.

Seventeen years ago, Christopher Reed ran through that exact forest to save his own life. That day his life changed forever.

That forest was a bit changed now.

From across those trees, he arrived in the end of that place – a cliff – where a river cored down through the rocks.

Down the way of the river, there was a bifurcation where the river divided in two paths. The left side continued the extension of it. The right side flew out in the lake area of the Lake Manor.

Seventeen years later, that river separated the two provinces: the Lake Province and the River Province.

"Christopher…" he heard a female voice calling him, immediately he turned around to face his angelic redhead wearing a long cotton white dress – she loved that color and pink – her hair was mostly loosen and only two straps of hair from each side were braided and tighten to the back

"What are you doing here?" she asked in concern, "I was looking for you as I didn't see you where we usually meet at those benches in the other side"

"I'm sorry… I don't know why…today I felt I needed to come this side…"

"This is the place you ran after that battle, right?"

"Yes it is…this is the spot I jumped not knowing where that would lead me…but led me to you…" he inhaled, "We were so young!" he forced a smile

She smiled faintly back and stepped closer to him, "Yes we were…"

"The water is crystalline but is fucking cold!" he spoke with a playful tone

She laughed, "I know! I remember!"

"Do you still know how to swim?"

"Yes I do! I still know how to do quite of those things, but in a slower pace"

They laughed

"We're old now" he spoke looking down the river

"But wiser" she replied resting her hands on her abdomen

"I never thought things would turn out this way, Angely…but there are moments like this that I feel like the twenty-one-year-old guy, who little about life and nothing about love, and had only a small idea of who I was, unware there was softness in that knight… now I'm this old man, hardened by life"

"You're still soft…"

"Only when I with you"

"I don't think so…Maddy, and all your children don't think either…you're a cool dad" she forced a smile

He didn't reply. He remained observing the woman next to him. She still looked delicate, but her facial bone features were more imposing of a woman's. Some lines of expression starting to show. His Angelique was not the youthful girl he met, nor skinny. She had curves now and her voice had matured a bit too.

"I know you don't like when I say these things… when I have my nostalgic moments…But today is one of those days…I'm sorry" he said apologetic

"It's not that I don't like…It's just that we owe respect to other people now, and the nostalgia lead us to live a moment we can't return…"

"We're not cheating anyone"

"But lately I'm emotional about things again…" she held her hands closer to her belly

His eyes widened as he had finally noticed the belly bump showing through her clothing, "Are you pregnant again?" he asked surprised

She nodded in confirmation

"Why didn't you tell me before? A bump like that I should've had noticed!"

She laughed, "Large clothes…"

"Congratulations, Angely!"

She nodded accepting the compliment, as she fought her tears.

"I'm sorry I got you emotional again"

"It's alright…" she said wiping her tears, "this time I'm really emotional… Crying rivers!"

"Maybe it's a girl…" he said pointing at her belly

She giggled holding it, "Maybe… Soon we will know…"

"Yeah, by the way, we should go back to the bench, Olly might be worried" he said

The couple, still facing the cliff, didn't notice the approximation of someone from behind them.

Christopher felt something touching his waist. Everything was too fast before his reflex could reason properly as Angelique's scream echoed in the forest, in the cliff.

He turned to see a silhouette in a long black dress carrying his knife, and blood on the blade. Angelique's blood as he noticed the red stain on the redhead's dress and belly level.

"Katarina!" he yelled in despair

With a sharp pain, holding her belly, trembling in despair, Angelique only caught the hatred eyes of Katarina, as if in slow motion as she heard Christopher yelling at the woman in black, and soon disarming her. Angelique felt the strong push at her chest, making her lose balance. She screamed again in a quick reflex trying to hold anything. In vain. Suddenly she only felt the cold hit against her back and heard at distance Christopher's voice calling her name.

* * *

" _Surrounded by the flames of jealousy, the jealous ends, like the scorpion, turning the poisoned bite against itself._ " ( _Friedrich Nietzsche_ )

.

.

"He did again…" Katarina spoke shivering as hot tears cored on her face, as her blood boiled as she watched the couple from behind a tree, "He lied to me…again!" she cried in silence as disappointment hit her

Observing them in silence, trying to keep her control, many things crossed her mind.

A strong wave of anger took over her as she saw Christopher's words about the painter's pregnancy.

"Pregnant…" she whispered as her body burned in hate, "She just told him now…"

Her reason going away as if time paralyzed at that exact moment. She couldn't hear, or think anything else, as a strong wave of burning anger took over her and all her eyes could see was his combat knife in the sheath at his waist. In a quick move she took it, grabbed the redhead with one hand, and without any thought, she stabbed the woman in her belly – deeply. Soon after, he disarmed her, and then, in a quicker dodge she pushed the woman down the cliff.

"Angelique!" he screamed before turning his attention to the woman in black

Turning her face to the side, she recognized that name.

"Angelique…" her mind swiping the information – could it be Angelique the late wife?

Before she even considered an explanation, her hatred eyes met Christopher's

"Look what you did!" he yelled at her

"You cheated on me again with that slut!"

"She's no slut!"

"You'll pay for this Katarina!" he yelled raising the blade and without a second thought, he stabbed her in the chest in a fury wave

Then he ran to the border of the cliff and looked down trying to find Angelique who managed to hold on a rock

"Angely! I'll get you help…" he screamed again

Katarina choked with the blade into her chest, and watched Christopher at the edge – distracted.

"You want to stay with her? So stay in hell!" Katarina yelled in a swift furious move and pushed the man down the cliff

In agonizing pain, the woman in black could not breathe properly as she felt her strengths going away. At the border, she cried watching Christopher swimming until the redhead and their bodies flowing down the river, and a sudden wave of remorse took over her.

"Christopher!" she yelled realizing her biggest mistake

She lost him. What she most feared happened – thanks to her.

Once upon a time, that man himself warned her that her jealousy broke them apart. And it just did. Knowing there was no turning back, Katarina in a last gather of strength, she used both of her hands to remove the knife from her chest. Blood spilled out. She fell on the grass, and closed her eyes.

.

.

" _Jealousy multiplies in doubts. When those doubts are transformed into certainties, then the passion ceases or becomes absolute madness_ " ( _Frances of La Rochefoucauld_ )

* * *

"Angely, please, stay with me…" he said holding her

"It's cold…"

"I'll take us to the right side of the bifurcation that drains in your lake"

"Our lake…"

"Yes, our lake…We're almost there…just hang in there…"

"Chris…Kata-rina…she tri-ed…kill…me"

"I know…I saw it…I was there…"

"No…she paid my…family…to kill me…she separated us…"

"What?"

"There's a letter…ask George…"

Their bodies continued flowing the river's route. Christopher stayed alert to the bifurcation. Angelique kept her eyes closed.

* * *

 _"Do you know…how to pray? Pray with me." She said with a weak tone of voice_

"I don't believe in a God…"

" _You need to have faith. I know how much you're hurting…"_

" _What God is this Angely? That seems to enjoy the suffering of the other, which allows those who love each other to separate. That allows you... who I loved..._ _I never stopped loving..."_

" _I... I'm sorry, it hurts me so much to see you like this. I wished so much it was different. That everything was different._ "

 **21** **st** **Century, Chris' Apartment, Night**

Chris woke up with a start, sweating, desperate. He looked to the sides to recognize the place he was, until finally realizing he was in his bedroom. On his king sized bed.

"Angely…" he whispered wiping his eyes

He listened to knocks on the door, and stood up to open.

"Kat…"

"Chris, are you okay?" the young brunette asked with visible concern

"Yeah…" he still seemed lost

"I woke up with your screams… I got worried…"

"I'm alright…thanks for the concern…"

"I'll get you a glass of water, you still seem out…"

"Don't worry Kate…I have a minibar here…Go back to sleep, we have a flight to take in a few hours"

"You do the same…it was just a bad dream…" she touching his arm in comfort

Unconsciously, Chris removed his arm abruptly. He could see the scare in the brunette's eyes.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" he said apologetic

"It's okay…I forgot the no touching rule…" she said walking away as she felt the sudden chest pain

"Kate…don't get me wrong…" he said going after her

"It's okay Chris. I don't get you wrong…" she said closing the door on his face

He immediately opened the door, and saw Kate holding her chest, "You don't seem well…Can I help you with something?"

"I'm fine…it's just a stupid pain I feel when I get tense…"

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"Yeah! All exams came clear…it's just stress…"

"I'm sorry…I really didn't mean to scare you…"

"I'm fine…" she muttered

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just leave me alone"

He cleared his throat and inhaled heavily, let out the sigh. Without insistency, Chris left back to his bedroom.

Katerina cried in silence, embracing herself. Alone. In the dark.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 ** **The moster is ready and out!** Phew...That was long, painful, sad...everything! My head is spinning now as I took a full day (14 straight hours) to write this because I wasn't willing to suffer for another day T_T  
Plus, I try to stick to my words and I said only two chapters left to end the 18th xD So, let's face this in one roll!**

 **I apologize for making you feel so much...Take your time because the next chapter is a long monster too! But softer! Phew...I can't take another dramatic and dark content more than this xD**

 **Ok..I can...I love drama xD buuut, I need to breathe now...and sleep too because I have classes in the morning, lol**

 **I actually am speechless right now...All this long path led to this fate... T_T**

 **I always knew I'd suffer writing this, and I even considered for a second changing it...but that would change the essence and reason of this story... T_T**

 **I'll def write a lighter 21st! xD Ahh, and not so long either - (I guess...)**

 **I also used some philosophers quotes, a book quotes on a few parts**

 **Anways, Thank you everyone for the support and let's move on! And let's hope for a different ending in the 21st! :D**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	45. The Wheel of Time

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **1712**

The fifteen-year-old ginger boy ran through the forest back to the civilization. Sobbing. Crying. He could barely see where his feet stood due to the blur in his vision.

He ran faster than a professional runner.

"Help, somebody help!" he screamed at the top of his lungs

The people looked at him scared, confused.

"In the river…Katarina pushed them to the river!" he continued screaming until he reached Clairy's house

Oliver's screams alarmed people, and his message was passed from people to people until the local authority.

"Auntie…Auntie…"

"Olly, what happened? What screams were that?" Clairy replied in concern

"Auntie…my mother…Katarina…she killed them" he spoke in between sobs

"What?"

"In the river…"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I saw them… she followed him and got hidden… I didn't know she was there…all I saw was she running towards them and stabbing my mom, and then she pushed them to the river…"

"Oh my god…Where's Christopher?"

"She pushed him!"

"What?!"

"Auntie…please…we have to find them!"

"Of course! That river passes through a bifurcation; let's hope they go to the lake side"

While Clairy, her husband and Oliver moved to spread the news and gather help for the search, Christopher carried Angelique in his left arm while he swam them to the right entrance.

Katarina's crimes wouldn't stay unpunished. There was a witness. Two key witnesses – Christopher himself and Oliver.

(*)

"Angely…stay with me…we're almost there…are you listening to me?"

"Lo-ve…you…" she whispered closing her eyes

"Stay with me, Angely!" he spoke in despair noticing her unconscious, "Open your eyes!"

Christopher tried all he could to stimulate the irresponsive redhead. He swam for them without minding about the cold water.

He continued swimming and always calling for her, who remained silent.

At distance, he could see the Lake Manor, he swam with more agility gathering energies he wasn't aware he had.

* * *

The River town wasn't far from the center of Bohma, where the main castle situated. Riding her horse at full speed, Clairy reached the main gate and screamed for Pierce's name, who didn't take long to answer her as he waited at the front yard.

Upon hearing to her, he had no time to process what he had heard, all he thought was of ordering troops to find Christopher and Angelique, and immediately he hurried to the Lake Manor where there could have a possibility that Christopher had swum there.

That day, the distances didn't matter and none seemed so long as the usual. That day, the towns seemed to proximate and in little time, royal guardian arrived at the land at the exact moment Christopher was at the shore trying to revive the pale redhead on the ground.

Maybe it was Christopher's denial or maybe he didn't realize the woman's skin coloration. She had gone for a while…

"Come on Angely…don't die on me…" he repeated crying in despair as he pressed her chest and blew air into her mouth.

He did and did again.

She was gone. Only god knows how long Christopher was there struggling in not let go of her.

Pierce Northman watched brokenhearted his friend and mentor still fighting the lost battle.

Angelique Stafford was gone when she was still in the water.

Christopher didn't notice that…He was too focused swimming for two –three.

The cold water and the exsanguination took the painter's life in the same path that united those souls.

That lake was the beginning and the end of those soul's story in that timeline. Brief but intense. Short but forever standing.

"Nooo! Angely!"

Christopher's screams of realization echoed in the forests and mountains. The despair of the older former knight and the horrible feeling of powerlessness took over the good man that only dreamed of having a simple and normal life at the side of his love, his family – Angelique and Oliver.

Destiny seemed so unfair separating those souls that truly loved each other. Destiny seemed unfair in not letting them stay longer together. Destiny seemed unfair by uniting him to that monster called Katarina O'Gregon.

How could he ever felt like he did love that witch? She only lied and fooled him! She was the evil woman of the dowser's prophecies and without explanation; he stayed at the side of the evil. Supported her. Loved her…

A love that now turned into hate, and he had no remorse stabbing her in the chest. He wished he had punished her more. He wished she'd be burning by now in hell – just like she screamed to him.

And now without Angelique he was groundless. His soul ached. He wished he could join her in the afterlife – he so wanted to believe there was the afterlife… he needed to believe that. That was his faith… That she would be waiting for him. Watching out for him. Being his guardian angel… his angel.

Without her, his only purposes remained on his family, his children – Olly, Maddy, Lilly, Philly, Beau and the twins.

Without Angelique he didn't want anyone else and that's what he did – he remained faithful to her memory until the last day of his life. He didn't love anyone else.

And one year after Angelique's death, Olly and Maddy gave him his first granddaughter – Angelica.

Yes, the girl he raised like his own daughter became a true part of his family. He wasn't surprised when they announced they wanted to get married, he knew they got along since they were children.

Angelica somehow was a consolation to his empty heart as she carried most of Angelique's features and kind personality.

Angelica became his precious little girl.

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, Edonia**

 **August 25** **th** **, 2011**

Angelina worked on a new painting at the backyard when she saw her boyfriend George coming to greet her after arriving from work.

"How was your day?" he asked

"Good. How was your work?"

"Tiring as the usual"

She smiled, "Go take a shower while I set the table"

"Alright…and where's Maggy and Diana?"

"Maggy went out with her. They might be home soon"

"I see"

George noticed Angelina didn't seem so excited as her usual, and wondered what could be bothering her, "Is everything alright? You seem to be a bit sad"

"Is that so evident?"

"Yes. What happened?"

"I got a call from Mr. Lionel's assistant and he said Lionel is in his final days, and said he wanted to give me something before he passes away"

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that"

"So I'm thinking of going next weekend to pay a visit to him, will you come with me?"

"I'm sorry but I can't go with you..."

"Why not?"

"Because I have business trip to go tomorrow"

"Oh…I see…"

"Yeah…I really wish I could pay a visit to him too…"

"I know babe, I understand…but I won't postpone my visit…But I don't think bringing a baby with me would be good in this occasion…"

"I know and you shouldn't do it. Mr. Lionel has a lot of appreciation for you and it wouldn't be good if you didn't fulfill his last request. You go with no worries; Maggy will take good care of Di, actually she'll love it"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

She smiled lightly. Angelina didn't like staying away from her little girl, but George was a good father and Maggy a great grandmother. She trusted them and didn't use getting so worried in her absence, but it was undeniable how attached the little girl and her were. Trusting them didn't make her miss her less.

* * *

" _Now, in a very long night, I was a candle that had to withstand the wind, all by myself. They did not know how deep my wounds were. My sorrows that reached every inch of me, my grief. They do not know how every face I saw before me was making my eyes quiver as they took in the sight! Is peace of loyalty of friendship like the flowers of spring, that wither and die, or does it stay forever, does it have power? Where is that writer of the heart that burned the candle? Does he write about our conditions (right now) and if he does, who sees it? Who will hear about our condition? O the one who knows about my heart. Do not hold my mouth, otherwise my heart which is wounded will flood the place with blood."_

 _(*)_

 **Year of 1747**

The young man stopped in front of the cell. He heard a hum of music in the background.

He unlocked the bar.

The humming stopped.

He entered the cell, some guards waiting outside in the hall.

The cell was simple, clean and organized. There was a simple bed, a blanket, a desk, and some chests and an old bookshelf. The cell looked more like a quarter of a commoner.  
That prisoner was special, so there were some luxuries. A miraculous act of concession coming from his uncle Henry, the present king of Edonia. She was there somewhat before he was born.  
His gaze turned to the side and he saw a middle-aged woman with long braided hair, dressed in a simple black dress, sitting in the chair, staring at him in surprise.

"Katarina..."

"Who are you?" She asked defensively. His features were so familiar.

"My name is Lionel"

"What do you want?"

At that moment, a counselor came to the cell door.

"Your Highness, what are you doing here?" The man asked.

"Leave me please! That's my problem" the young man said politely.

"Your mother is looking for you"

"She can wait"

"But sir..."

The prince of Bohma turned with a serious and firm expression, which intimidated the royal counselor. Without insisting, the man withdrew.

The prisoner just watched. She could noticed the strong personality of the young prince, which contrasted with his friendly character - as like Christopher's.

But the truth was, she knew who that boy was. Her late daughter, Maddy, had told him about him on a visit years ago.

"You may not believe it, but I'm flattered to meet you in person, the infamous and famous Katarina O'Gregon"

"Why the admiration tone, when I am the shame of the family?"

"I wonder why you're still so young and beautiful at your age. You're still full of vigor at the age of 72!"

"Beautiful and prisoner..." she rolled his eyes

"And that's why I'm here"

"Go to the point, I do not have time to listen to the babblings"

"I've come to reallocate you."

"To another cell?"

"No, for a place a little better than this" he said staring around

"Where?"

"To the Tower of Exile"

She did not move a muscle of reaction and spoke coldly, "What if I do not want to go?"

"Would you rather be locked in this poorly lit cell with just a small window? And all alone?"

"I will be stuck there in the same way and I am not alone here…"

"Why not?"

"Sometimes I have the company of the spirits of my deceased children, and of my deceased ex-husband – hating on me…"

The young prince disguised the incredulous reaction. He had heard that Katarina had gone mad in 30 years of voluntary imprisonment, and especially after Christopher's death two years ago.

Yes, volunteer. After killing Angelique, due to the blow Christopher had given her, Katarina had been killed. She lived a few years in freedom, lived in another country and wandered in disguise to not be recognized. She knew the bad name that her name had become.

Erroneously people accused her of being the principal of the strange soldiers' incident.

However, without Christopher, without her children, only with Lucy's support and tormented by her actions, Katarina decided to return to Bohma after the death of her eternal and loyal companion.

 **Flashback**

 **1712**

"Milady? Milady?" Lucy the favorite and most loyal lady-in-waiting of Katarina poked the woman in black lying on the ground, unconscious. At a first glance from afar, she thought the brunette was dead due to the blood on her chest and the knife in the woman's left hand. She thought Katarina had taken her own life after the fight with Christopher – that was what the people were saying in town.

She knew Katarina had grown suspicious of Christopher's often visits to Clairy. It wasn't already enough Katarina's suspicions on the boy Oliver who seemed to share very similar traits to Christopher's as he grew.

Suspicions after suspicions, Christopher's behavior – the behavior he seemed to be hiding something - and the history of cheatings. It was just a matter of time until Katarina would investigate him – follow him and maybe catch him.

Lucy accompanied Katarina in the chase and waited for the brunette at a tavern, while Katarina went after him after spotting him.

Lucy noticed Katarina was taking too long to return and decided to look for her, until she noticed a commotion in the streets and people talking about people in the river. Immediately she ran to the location and found Katarina's body. After checking her, she noticed the woman was still breathing.

It took a little while for Katarina to show she was regaining her conscience, and she opened her eyes abruptly. Scared. Confused. She stared around, but only saw Lucy kneeling next to her.

"Milady…we have to leave…Soon the authorities will get here"

Katarina didn't reply, and with her friend's help, she stood up and both left the location before other people witnessed them together.

Dressing black cloaks, the women left the town and moved to another country where Lucy had a land of her family's. They lived simple life – compared to the court's standards.

The two lived there for five years, until Lucy's death by a disease.

After burying her only friend, Katarina decided it was time to pay for her crimes and face the consequences of her actions, and returned to Bohma.

 **Castle of Bohma, 1717**

After Angelique's death, Christopher requested his retirement so he could take care of his children, and Pierce Northman took his place as the head of security of the kingdom.

During Pierce's round break, another soldier called him in the knight's chambers and told him to go to the main gate.

His eyes could not believe what they were seeing when the silhouette before him removed the cloak's hood.

"Katarina…"

"I came to turn me in"

(*)

 **Lake Manor**

Christopher was sitting at the lakeshore pensive. Since Angelique's death, he moved there with his children: Lilly, Phil, Beau and the twins Melissa and Henry – with exception of Maddy and Olly with whom he finished the cottage's construction at the Peasant Province and gave it to the young couple live with their family after their marriage.

George Talbot couldn't stand staying in that place as memories of Angelique saddened him, so he accepted Christopher's request to live there when he left the court. Somehow, George did believe he didn't belong there, but Christopher.

Even after Angelique dying in his arms in that same location, Christopher needed to stay there. When not handling his children, or doing home chores, he spent his time fishing. It was his only way to feel close to Angelique somehow. To their memories. To the frozen moment at the lake that now was immortalized in the eternity.

"The years passed quickly. Everything changed at home. I also changed along with everything around me. It's nothing else like before and I'm not the same man anymore. But I also can't forget everything I lost. I can't feel the joy I should feel, you know… Because I feel an emptiness... sometimes, my revolt betrays me and I end up doing things I wouldn't do. My mind deceives me. I don't know how to control myself. I don't like what I've become. I do not like it at all... That's why I miss you..." he sighed sadly, as he stared the lake.

Soon after, he heard Pierce's voice and turned around to stare him who didn't seem to have a good expression.

"You don't seem to have come to invite to a party"

"I'm afraid not…"

"What happened?"

"You're not going to believe who has been imprisoned"

"Who?"

"Katarina…"

Christopher frowned, exhaling bitterly at the mention of that name. Cursed name.

"A bad penny always turn up"

"Yeah…but I did hope she had died after your blow…"

"A creaking gate hangs longest"

"Unfortunately…"

"Have they decided her death sentence?"

"No…"

"What are they waiting for?"

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen…"

"Why not?"

"The laws of Bohma determine that the punishment for a deposed regent is the gallows or the prison or the exile. Even after all her mistakes, Charles granted leniency alleging she saved his life and there were no proof that she acted against the state, so instead of death sentence, she received life imprisonment for Angelique's death"

Christopher huffed, "Son of a bitch…"

"I voted against her and pled for death sentence by showing the Angelique's father letter, Vladimir's testimony and the necklace she used for payment, but all in vain… Charles decided in her favor as prison for life was enough for her to pay for the assassination"

"Injustice! That pussy decided under his feelings and not for the justice!" Christopher shouted

"I think the same… at least you managed to annul your marriage to her based in her lie about her pregnancy…"

"Don't remind of that…Actually…I don't want to remember that monster ever existed! I just want to forget that bitch! I hope she rots in prison… as in the end… nothing will bring my Angelique back…"

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

.

.

Solitude in "freedom" and solitude in a cell no longer made any difference to her.

It was worse to deal with Christopher's look of hatred and contempt on the first and only time he had visited her in prison two years ago.

 **Flashback**

 **Year 1745**

Katarina had heard footsteps coming toward her cell. Steps that sometimes seemed hesitant, others were firm steps.

She continued her activity - writing. Since she was arrested, to spend the time she wrote several letters, several texts, poems. Or she just hummed.

She continued writing until she heard the steps stop in front of her cell, and the padlock unlocked. She ignored the silent person, imagining that there would be some more guard or whoever else...

The silence lingered for long seconds until she was driven by curiosity, turned her face to see whom it was. She'd rather not to. She felt an instant numbness, a heavy sensation that spread through her body. She could not hide her face in amazement as she saw the old man with white hair and wrinkled skin. Tired expression. And a penetrating and mysterious look, but his energy was still the same as it had been years ago - of anger, fury.

The woman who was once imposing now was without reaction, but involved in remorse and shame... one day have been able to destroy the man she loved the most - even if in a crooked way.

The woman in black was unable to even look at him - in the eyes.

They remained that way, immobile for eternal minutes. Who knows what was going on in each one's head.

"I knew you would come... someday," she said, showing some relief, full of hope for waiting so long for her redemption, for forgiveness, and perhaps for deliverance - not necessarily physical deliverance. This detail would be the decision of another's.

He remained silent. A storm of feelings stunned him. His own past. His own memories. His own story. All there gathered in one place, bumping into the still young figure of the beautiful brunette and ex-noble woman.

"You were late, but I knew you'd come. That is why I waited… I wrote you several letters…"

Yes, she had actually written several letters that never reached the recipient, but all were stored in a trunk in the castle's basement.

"I know that words fail you. I see that you still are angry with me - and not without reason. I know I made a mistake. I know I hurt you, but... I paid for my sins. Here, alone, in the dark for endless days. Reflecting all my mistakes and actions…"

"I can't forgive you!" he broke the silence

"But you have already taken the first step - to face me…"

"Your fate is in my hands"

"Certainly! I did not expect any less from you"

"What do you expect of me?"

"Your decision"

"What if I want to condemn you myself?"

"I am already doomed!"

"You're just imprisoned..."

"True... death is only a matter of time, and this is my condemnation"

Even though not looking the age she actually had, Katarina was still clearheaded. She was still wise with words – base of her known manipulation skill.

"What really matters to me is that you are here! You have already given your step to face your conscience"

"My conscience?"

"Yes, your conscience! After all, you live in it. In your past, in your memories. In your memories... in your ghosts"

"Ghosts you created with your wicked mind! You usurped places that didn't belong to you!"

"And I paid for it! Now I am just a shadow... of mine, of yours, of our past... and of their past... finally I have become what you wanted most of me – be the shadow of Angelique"

"You killed her!" He shouted

"Yes, I killed all of us! I wrote my story and became the shadow of it myself!"

"You don't seem to be regretted"

"And what is the use of repentance with you? It will not erase what has already been done and will bring nothing and no one back"

"You have not changed at all! Time and isolation have not taught you anything!"

"They taught more than death would have!"

"I should take the chance to be alone here with you and take revenge for everything you did to me... Of all the things, I regret... my greatest regret is that I have not stabbed you more. Of not getting rid of you every time I had the opportunity..."

"Then do it now... if it is what will make you feel good... and become like me, so take your revenge. I have been waiting for this for a long time!"

"Demons don't die"

"I am not a..."

"Aren't you?" He smirked, "Good people don't do what you did!"

"I agree... I agree..."

"Why? Why did you do everything to hurt me? Hurt your children? What did I do to you? What did we do to you?"

"You did nothing Christopher... The wrong one was me!"

"And what did you get out of it?"

"I won my life sentence..."

"Is that what you wanted?"

"What is the point of talking about it? You did not come because you care... You came to punish me... for your vendetta... Angelique's vendetta"

"Don't say her name! You don't have that right!"

"Excuse me... I was just telling the truth... your truth!"

"You said you loved me!"

"And I loved... how much I still do love..."

"You don't know what love is!"

"I agree..."

"Are you going to agree all the time?"

"What do you want me to say, Christopher? What do you want me to do? I cannot change the past! Do you want me to kneel, humiliate myself and beg for your forgiveness? You will never forgive me, I already know that! And you already know how much I mourn for destroying you, for destroying us! Do not you see the nightmare that I live, the nightmare I have won when I lost you because I was the biggest mistake in our history? I live alone and isolated in this cell in the company of my demons and memories just waiting for the final judgment that never comes! I have lost everything I have struggled to achieve, I have not seen my children grow up, I have not seen my grandchildren born and most of my children hate me! Do not you think I am already being punished for my mistakes? I know I was stupid! I do not need anyone to remind me of this!"

"That's little for what you did to me! To us!"

She did not answer and knelt before him and spread her arms, waiting for the sentence.

Christopher stared her. It was up to him to decide the final outcome of Katarina O'Gregon.

Or is it not?

He hesitated. Thought. She felt that he was doing everything she said, as if she were deciding her own end through him.

No, he did not want to do her wish! She made him feel like he was following her game. To kill her, free her, torture her, whatever he did, he felt she was fulfilling her desire. How should he handle it? How could he not feel manipulated by a 70-year old woman?

She kept her eyes on him. Waiting.

She was not a queen, but she seemed to dictate the rules.

"I didn't come to see you humiliated... I just came to be sure that you really are a witch... Your appearance has hardly changed... while me..." He looked at himself, "Because the only explanation for me to have held you for so long, was that I was indeed bewitched!"

She did not reply.

"I will never forgive you... Katarina! Never! You're a murderer!"

She smiled, "You love me"

"I hate you!"

"Hate is a form of love..."

"I never loved you!"

She laughed, "Oh, you did! A lot! So many times, you loved me. You loved my body. You fought for me. You called me yours! You were jealous and even got scared to lose me! You marked my body, my soul with your love! With your hatred! But you loved me wildly... madly!"

"Witchcraft!"

She only smiled lightly, "If I really were a witch and had bewitched you... you would only have been mine and no one else's..."

His blood boiled at her insinuations. He hated himself for having ever liked - loved - that woman. He was out of himself for allowing himself so much. Although he did not regret the children she had given him.

Among so many reconciliations, he could never understand what really connected them. And even now he still could not. Yet he needed to know after so many years... but in vain.

"You have only my hatred and eternal contempt Katarina"

"Fine, now leave me alone." She answered coldly and turned her back on him.

(*)

That was the first and last time they saw each other after Angelique's death. Katarina bursted into tears and silently pleaded with him for forgiveness. The forgiveness that never happened.

Shortly thereafter, Christopher died of natural causes at age 71.

Katarina began to live in eternal mourning. In addition, his death, was the day she stopped taking the black pills and the effects on her looks progressively showed up.

 **End of Flashback**

"I know you do not believe me, and I do not care if you believe it or not, and you may think I am crazy too. Maybe I really am. It may be foolish to refuse the opportunity to live alone in a "better" environment, overlooking the sea and entitled to some visits when I have no one else to visit me in life"

"You've never lost the right of visitors. Your children visited you…you still have grandchildren…"

* * *

 **21** **st** **Century, Bohma**

 **Lake House Land**

Katerina didn't seem to enjoy Bohma that much like Chris and Piers did. She admitted it was a beautiful place, but there was something there that didn't seem right. Actually, she still wondered what made her accept their invitation to visit an old man she didn't even know.

As they arrived in the famous Lake House, Katerina spotted from afar the old and abandoned barn before the lake itself, and a strong headache hit her.

"It's a beautiful place, don't you think?" Piers asked

"Yeah it is, but gives me the creeps"

"It gives you the creeps? A beautiful place like this?"

"Yeah, weird huh!" she shrugged

He made a face not knowing what to say

Christopher only listened to their conversation without saying anything. Even if he wanted, he couldn't. At that moment, his attention only focused on the beautiful redhead girl leaving the Lake House. His heart raced and a smile formed on his face. He couldn't control it and rushed to greet the ginger painter.

"Angie!"

"Chris!" she smiled largely and greeted him with a hug

He hugged her back, enjoying the strange sensation that cored through his body – her body fit his perfectly, "Fancy meeting you here!" he said smiling largely back

"Yeah! I'm so happy to see you again!"

"You look great!"

"Thanks, you too!"

He nodded accepting the compliment, "I didn't expect meeting you here…today…"

"I anticipated my visit to Mr. Lionel after the message about his health condition…" she replied with a saddened expression

"You got it too?"

"Yeah…did you get it as well?"

"Yeah…I did…But I actually would come here next month for a job…and the message just made me speed it up."

"Ah, I see…that's nice of you. Mr. Lionel really loved meeting you"

"It was a great meet indeed…too bad the second meeting is not in such a good vibe…"

"Yeah…"

That moment, Piers and Katerina approximated to them. Angelina greeted Piers with a friendly look, but the moment the ginger and the brunette's gaze met, a strange bad sensation cored through her.

A mutual sensation for Katerina.

"Angie, this is Katerina. Katerina this is Angelina" Christopher introduced the women to each other

"Nice to meet you" Katerina spoke politely

"Nice to meet you too…" Angelina replied

No shake of hands. None of the girls felt comfortable to do it so.

Soon after, the group headed to the Lake House.

"Mr. Lionel, you have more guests!" Angelina spoke with a happy face to the old man sitting on the couch

"Oh really?" he lifted his eyebrows and smiled

From that moment on, everything seemed to work in a slow motion. Mr. Lionel saw one by one passing the door and coming to greet him. Chris was the first. His grip strong and amicable. Piers seemed to hesitate for a while as he looked to the side and talked to someone else who was still outside.

"Piers…I don't even know him!" Katerina spoke hesitant

"He's alright. He's a nice guy… you'll see"

Katerina let out a sigh and inhaled gaining courage

"I'm sorry Mr. Lionel, we brought a friend with us. We hope you don't mind…" Piers said greeting the old man

"Oh, really? Who is it?"

"Her name is Katerina. She works with us…" Piers replied

That moment the brunette stepped by the door, and the old man's heart raced inside his chest. His body trembled in mix of feelings – excitement, surprise, relief. She wore a beige blouse and jeans, and red high heels – beige, something so similar to the last outfit Katarina O'Gregon wore in her last day.

The wheel of life was turning again.

"Hello, Mr. Lionel. Excuse me being the intruder here…" the brunette a bit awkward as she headed to greet the man who seemed perplexed

"Kat…" he whispered with his eyes widened

"I liked the Kat, but you can call me Kate too" she replied politely

The man nodded, "Welcome…Kate…Be my guest..." he said waving to her sit whenever she wanted

* * *

 **Winter Memories**

 **1774**

The years passed while Katarina lived in the Tower of the Exiles, courting the sea and the only road that there was to that place.

" _It is cold today, the wind blows over the lake water and marshes with the scent of the trees. In weather like this, if my family were still with me and the war had ceased, we would not be trapped in one place, watching a leaden dawn and a sunset of dull red; we would be traveling with the king's court, on progress through the weald and downland of Baveen and Bohma, the richest and most beautiful countryside in all of Edonia, riding high on the hilly roads and looking out for the first sight of the sea. We would be out hunting every morning, dining under the thick canopy of the trees at midday and dancing in the great hall of some country house at night in the yellow light of flickering torches. We were friends with the greatest families in the land, we were the favorites of the king, kin to the queen. We were beloved; we were the O'Gregon's, the most beautiful, sophisticated family at the court._

 _Nobody knew Christopher without desiring him, nobody could resist Pierce, everyone courted me as a passport to their attention. Christopher was dazzling – dark brown hair, light brown-eyed, and handsome - always mounted on the finest horses, always at the side of the King. Pierce was at the peak of his beauty and his wits, as alluring as dark honey. And I went everywhere with them._

The two of them used to ride together, racing, neck and neck like partners or even real siblings, and I could hear their laughter over the thudding of the hooves as they went flying by. Sometimes, when I saw them together, so rich, so young, so beautiful, I couldn't tell which of them I loved more.

 _They had unique traits that I adored._

 _All the court was besotted with the two of them, those dark Knight flirtatious looks, their high living: such gamblers, such lovers of risk; both so fervent for their reform of the politics and safety, so quick and clever in argument, so daring in their reading and thoughts. From the king to the kitchen maid there was not one person who was not dazzled by the pair of them._

 _Even_ _now, I cannot believe that I will never see them again. Surely, a group so young, so radiant with life, cannot simply die? In my mind, in my heart, they are still riding out together, still young, still beautiful. And why would I not passionately long for this to be true? Many years passed since I last saw them…_

 _Thirty-one years, two months, and nine days since Maddy's careless fingers brushed against mine, and she smiled and said, "Good day, mother, I must go, I have everything to do today,"_

 _I am a woman a ninety-nine years old, with a face scored by frustration and sorrow, mother to buried children, the oldest survivor of a disgraced family, heiress to scandal._

My dream is that one day this luck will change and the embrace of death will hug me tight, and comfort my soul as I sleep forever.

 _I never thought I would live this long, encaged. I heard people died earlier in prisons, and my real punishment has been living all this long, alone and disgraced._

 _It was painful learning of family members, my children dying before me. That is not the usual course of life. Or the ideal._

 _I suffered bringing them to life, but I suffered more they were gone, and worse of all, I could not be there at their funeral and say goodbye to any of them. Nor to Elizabeth's._

 _and then the penult one… Christopher…_

 _now he is in heaven with his Angely._

 _And me still claiming for forgiveness._

 _My dream is that the world will change again, swing topsy-turvy until we are uppermost once more, and I am forgiven._

 _My great sorrow was that I ruined all of us, I destroyed the two handsome men who now ride and laugh and dance only in my dreams. I touch the milestone once more, and imagine that tomorrow the messenger will come: "It is time to go Katarina O'Gregon…You are free now…" he will say, looking at my plain kirtle and the dust on the hem of my gown, my hand stained with dirt from the barn of the Lake House."_

(*)

A 44-year-old man was climbing the stairs of a castle tower. He was dressed in luxurious clothes; he was tall, light-skinned, with brown eyes, and gray hair.

The walls were lit by little archaic lights and at the bottom of the stairs a small hall leading to a single door that was guarded by two sentries. He ordered them to open the door, and as he entered the room, he saw an elderly woman with long white hair lying in a simple bed. Looking around, the room was impeccable in terms of cleanliness and organization, and was decorated with some flowers, which was a request from the prisoner.

Lying there in bed was she - the black widow. The former great noblewoman. The old self-proclaimed empress, now known only as a black widow.

The famous Katarina O'Gregon lying in her bed in place of exile, wearing only an old long black dress. The shoes at the foot of the bed were shabby. In the corner there was an old desk with stacks of letters and diaries she wrote over 57 years of isolation from society, and a trunk. 57 years alone with her ghosts. Ghosts of a glorious past. A condemned past. A bittersweet past.

"Is she still alive?" He asked one of the guards.

"Yes, your majesty"

At the sound of the voices, the woman moved slowly on the bed and smiled broadly at the sight of the man

"Christopher!" She said cheerfully.

How much time had passed for that old woman, but at the same time, time had not passed to her. At least not to her memory. To her mind. She did not realize that she was no longer her beloved one there before her, but their descendant. And also descendant of Angelique, Vladimir, and Charles.

The blood of them all ran in that man's veins. The bloods of the most relevant families in the history of Bohma and part of the history of Edonia: Lionel Horvat Stafford-Hansen O'Reed.  
There had not been a long time since they'd met, only a month.

A very tumultuous month for him after being crowned as King of Bohma. He was the son of Thomas Horvat O'Reed, grandson of Charles II of Bohma, son of Charles III and Lilly O'Gregon-Reed; husband of Angelica Stafford-Hansen Reed, whose parents were Maddy and Olly.

After Henry O'Gregon-Reed won the war after the defeat of Charles III in maintaining sovereignty over the two kingdoms, Edonia and Bohma became independent countries, despite the friendly relationship between the two.

Lionel got a chance to hang out with them all, except Angelique, George, Clairy, Charles II (king Charles) and Vladimir.

Lionel grew up listening to everyone else's versions. Some he lived more than with others, but he was aware of their versions of the events.

He knew that ever since Katarina's trial, Pierce Northman had never seen Katarina again, and he did not look favorably upon Elizabeth's visits to her sister, even after learning the truth. Despite everything, Elizabeth took pity on her sister's situation, despite disagreeing with some of her actions.

Pierce became a more rational and objective man after the disillusionment with Katarina, even though he was known as the man who loved her the most.

Phillip never forgave his mother's mistakes and never saw her again after her disappearance in 1712.

Beau and Lilly had ambiguous feelings for her, and rarely visited her.

Phillip and Beau died together saving innocents of war - a very hard blow to Christopher for burying the remains of his children, and Katarina who could not say goodbye to them.

Lilly married Charles's son, and after the marriage she stopped visiting her mother for ethical and political reasons.

Oliver hated Katarina until the last day of his life. He saw Katarina for the last time during her trial, and died shortly after the death of his father Christopher in 1745.

He had a close relationship with George and the other siblings from both sides. George did not remarry and died of natural causes. Oliver died in poor health after surviving an accident with toxic plants.

The twins Melissa and Henry had a wealthy life. Melissa married a French nobleman and moved to France. She had never met her mother after being influenced by Christopher and Phillip's views on her.

Henry was a pathfinder, with high combat skills and strategy like his father. Since a young age he proved to be the most reserved of the O'Reed clan, and never felt like meeting his mother.

Of all the children, Maddy was the only one who visited her mother until the end of her life, even after all the bad childhood history. Katarina has indeed changed the way she treated her daughter, and gave to her the care and maternal affection she had denied the blonde when she was little. Maddy, like Elizabeth, could see the innocent, insecure side of Katarina. She became her mother's greatest source of real-world information, and also her ally for continuing to provide her the black pills.

Maddy maintained a friendly relationship with Vladimir after the revelation of his paternity, but she remained closer to Christopher, not only like her father of creation, but also like her father-in-law.

She married Olly and they lived happily on the property of the Peasant Land, they had 4 children, and had only a great disagreement, the opposite relations with regard to Katarina.  
Maddy became Angelique's successor and became an important local painter. She died in 1743 because of an illness.

Christopher distributed his patrimony and one half he shared equally with his heirs, and another half he used to help poor and needy people.

He took Angelique's work from the mausoleum of his land in Arthena and became the greatest promoter of the redhead's art along with Olly and Maddy.  
He lived until his last day at the Lake House, and his body was buried by Oliver next to Angelique's in the "Lake Cemetery," a more secluded part of the property.

"I knew you would come again! Did you decide who's going to kill me?" She asked, bringing the old man

"Kill you?" He asked back slightly confused

"Yes... my sentence... Or have you ever forgiven me?"

Oh yes, definitely the time stopped for Katarina. She now lived her memories, the distant past in real time. Paralyzed in time.

In fact, she wrote her story and became unforgettable to the people of Bohma and to some of Edonia. She broke down barriers and left a legacy, even as a legacy stained with the blood of Angelique Stafford - the painter who condemned her forever.

Angelique lost her life, but became a hero; she was consecrated for unmasking Katarina - the evil queen - who became the shame of the nation, with few lovers of her intelligence and determination.

Katarina would've become all she wanted to be, if were not for cowardly machinated Angelique's plot and death.

62 years later, Katarina was still here, with lapses of lucidity, and in solitude. She no longer maintained the spoiled and superior pose. She now looked defeated, reliving the times of youth inside an isolated tower, with white and brittle hair, worn clothes. The very distinct vanity left her the day died and she stopped taking the black pill - the pill he now studied the mysterious properties as well its regeneration effect.

Once upon a time Katarina accused Christopher of living and loving his ghosts, today she did the same - in a severer degree.

Lionel sighed deeply and held out his hand, "I have already decided your sentence..."

"And which one is it?"

"Come with me"

As he led her out of isolation, he caught the terror in her gaze. Worried about finding executioners.

As they walked, he listened to her incessant speeches, talking to someone. Someone who definitely was not him.

She was startled when she saw the light of the day and the open countryside around them and the eyes of the servants and guards staring her. She hid her face with her hands.

Katarina O'Gregon was no longer a threat.

He demanded that her cell had to be searched and they found inside the trunk some old notes of Albert and William, as well other notes of the location of the black herb plantation – that herb that was part of the agreement that Albert made with Katarina years ago when she freed him from prison because being young and beautiful was always a desire of her and he used her weakness to manipulate to accomplish his evil plans to use human experiments.  
.

.

When I was called in to the Tower of the Exiles, I knew that Katarina's health was impaired, not just the mental health, but the physical health in general.

While I myself was studying the forbidden black herb, Katarina remained in the old room of the O'Gregon's chambers, but her presence caused a negative commotion; and most people refused to assist her, and because of that I took her to Lake House that since Christopher's death remained abandoned, and I thought there was the safest place to keep her in her last days.

I hired an assistant to stay full-time with Katarina as I unfolded between my obligations and the care of my great-grandmother.

Katarina walked slowly and with difficulties and I got tired of playing the King - something I never really wanted to be - I abdicated the throne and my eldest son succeeded me, and then I moved to the Lake House.

Days, weeks, months passed, Katarina spent most of her time staring at the lake, talking to her dead parents, or her deceased sister, and also mentioning the names of some strangers – people she met.

A few times, she ended up mentioning the Duke, her biggest nightmare and complained about his accidental death.

While Katarina spent her days at the shore of the lake or at the barn - yes, in the barn. She preferred to stay there and I had to improvise a room for her in there.

Maybe she knew that the house once belonged to Christopher and Angelique, and in there was still their energies, or maybe she'd rather stay in the barn to stay close to the memories of some barn from her past, after all, she'd been talking about the dead horses she had.

3 days before Katarina's 100th birthday, she spent nights and days at the lakeshore. And I feared that at any moment she would throw herself into the lake to join the souls that disturbed her in the little serenity she had left.

She only called names, and no longer had long conversations, she only cried out for forgiveness.  
She did not eat anymore, hardly drank water. The end of her was near.

I spent nights and days almost without rest. It was almost endless days and nights listening to her screams by the lake.

On her birthday night, she called for the only known names she had not yet mentioned.  
"Christopher! Angelique! "

I was in my bedroom - the room that Christopher had once been - when the attendant called me astonished.  
"She jumped in the water!"

Immediately I ran worried, and there was Katarina on the edge floundering - Katarina didn't know how to swim.

"Kat!" I screamed" I've never called her that way, maybe it happened after I spent a good deal of my time reading my ancestors' notes, and also hers.

With the help of the assistant, we rescued her from the water.

"Christopher, Angelique," Katarina said looking frightened at us. She seemed to see the deceased couple in us.

Then we took her inside the house to take care of her. After days without eating, it was that time she accepted the soup.

That was a long night!

One winter morning, I woke up feeling watched and looked at the door. There she was: Katarina O'Gregon smiling pompously, in a long beige dress, perfect makeup, and black hair.  
I was almost amazed for a brief moment, because seemed as if I had seen the young bubbly Katarina waving at me, smiling and I could smell her fragrance - floral essence.

"Thank you very much for everything, Lionel!" She said sweetly and bowing like every well educated girl of the nobility.

I felt the sincerity in her tone of voice and then I saw the old image of old Katarina in an old beige dress, black hair and walking slowly to the barn, and before going inside she looked at the lake.

A sudden sleep came over me and almost at the end of the day; I woke up and saw a letter from Katarina on the table.

"Where's Katarina?" I asked the assistant.

"In the barn"

"Did she get dressed only to stay in the barn?"

"Yes"

"Any special occasion of her memories?"

"I do not know, she just asked me to dye her hair, help her with the make-up and then she thanked me"

"Have you checked on her?"

"She is sleeping"

The hours passed and the cold night fell. The full moon shining in the sky that illuminated the barn, but the interior remained dark. I thought it was strange and looked at the clock. It was late at night and after sleepless and noisy days and nights, finally the silence prevailed in the property.

Was Katarina still sleeping of exhaustion?

I decided to go to the barn.

"Katarina?" I called her as I entered the place and spotted her on the bed, lying on her side.

No reply.

"Kat?" I called again and touched her shoulder lightly.

Immobile. Rigid.

And that was when I realized, Katarina was really asleep – in the eternal sleep.

 _(*)_

" _The hand of death that reaches out has touched me…it is very cold, my body is cold, my soul and my heart. O people. I was on the seventh level on earth. Hear me, look at me, know me. I am the Great regent. The mother of believers, master of the office, the elder valid, the punished sovereign, Katarina O'Gregon! The refreshing rain is finished. The sweetness of spring. The lights have gone out. I have left, I have left the home of this world that has six doors. No right, no left, no death, no back, no forward, no top, no bottom. The doors have closed. Before me, a journey unimaginable…"_

 _(*)_

I went into mourning. I mourning for all who lived there. I mourning for all who died. I mourning for the last survivor of that special group.

I felt a chill wind and felt myself again being watched and I looked at the barn door. I saw a figure and I went out to investigate, and I almost bumped into a mysterious woman - the famous dowser.

"The vortex of time. Here is where a cycle started. Here is where a cycle ended. Here where another cycle will last Beyond Time.  
You have become the guardian of this new cycle.  
The guardian of these souls in a new opportunity in the future when they return to this world.  
You have the secret of longevity, and you must take one portion per day.  
I will open the chakra of your third eye so that you can recognize them and you'll be sure that they are the ones.  
You will be the advisor of their fate, but don't feel martyrized by their individual choices.  
Everyone has free will, but every free will comes responsibility.  
And do not fret if they or some of them repeat the same mistakes, because you are not responsible for their personal choices!

.

.

.

And here they are: the Four ones.

I finally found Katarina. She may be capable to write her footsteps, but her footsteps brought her to me...

"I am happy and eternally grateful to have all of you on my birthday!" Said the gentleman with a relaxed tone and a broad smile on his face.

.  
It was not his birthday, in reality, but it was a celebration day for him.  
A week later Mr. Lionel Horvat Stafford-Hansen O'Reed died at the age of 281.

Mission Accomplished!

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and** **silver scropion for the reviews! :D**

 **Okay, mission accomplished literally. Two "monsters" of chapters in a row have drained my eyes, my brain, my neurons xD But I'm happy I made it! :D**

 **Creating all that was so fun! :D**

 **It has been a long journey and this just felt like the end of the story lol - it can be if you want it to xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Models**

 **Christopher Reed - Ekin Koç  
Pierce Northman - Ekin Koç  
Angelique/Angelina - Abigail Kasyanyuk  
Older Katarina - ******Nurgül Yeşilçay  
Katerina - ********Merve Boluğur _  
_**Young Lionel -** **Doğaç Yıldız  
Old Lionel - Haluk Bilginer  
**


	46. Letters to You

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.  
**

 **A/N: I'm not english** ** **native** speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Bohma, 2011**

The emptiness Mr. Lionel left was remarkable for those four important souls. Each one felt it in a different extent.

During the meeting, after everyone felt more comfortable in being there, Mr. Lionel fulfilled his promise and gave the gifts to all of them, and talked to one by one in his office.

Piers was the first one, and the others left the house and waited outside.

Chris and Angelina talked at the lake pier, while Katerina preferred to stay distant from them, as she didn't feel like getting along with the redhead girl – the intruder, and explored the property despite the uncomfortable shivers on her skin.

The first place she headed was the barn, the only place that really caught her attention.

Observing it from the outside, Katerina had a mix of feelings between curiosity and fear. The doors were closed and she walked around watching it attentively.

Walking slowly and peering through some holes, she could see the dark interior that was poorly lit by the lights of the sun that passed through the wood and small windows.

Her eyebrows lifted when she saw what apparently seemed to be a bed in the bottom and a sudden dizziness took over her.

She looked down and rested her hand on the wood to catch her balance, and when she looked to the side, she had a light scare when she saw a grave cross.

Staring at it, she wondered why such grave was so hidden at such a place, and as curiosity got the best of her, she stepped closer trying to discover whom that grave belonged to.

"Katarina O'Gregon" she whispered, and got a big scared when she heard a loud snap that seemed to come from the wood of the barn, and immediately she rushed out of there.

Back to the open camp, she spotted from afar Chris and Angelina laughing together – so comfortable with each other.

She bit her lips and let out a heavy sigh.

* * *

 **Letter to you: Piers**

Mr. Lionel delivered an envelope to Piers who sat before him with a skeptical posture.

"You'd better open it when I die..."

"What's inside the envelope?"

"A letter and a flash drive"

"What about it?"

"You'll know…when I die…unless you take a peek before"

"I could do that, but I can see your wish is when you die"

"That's correct"

"Don't get me wrong, but…why all this? Why staying with us individually just to give us an envelope?"

"Each of you will receive a different gift… and I'd like to know you a little better"

"Is that an interview or something?"

Lionel laughed, "Kind of…"

"What's the purpose of that?"

"To pass my message to whoever wants to hear it"

"What message?"

"You and Chris work for the BSAA, right?"

"Yes we do"

"So you have seen the 'impossible' turning into possible"

"Pretty much that's the case"

"Just like me…in another sphere of course…"

Piers made a face and remained in silence. He didn't want to sound rude, but hearing from the creatures he fought and being on field had a large difference, and there was no comparison their experience in that sense – or so he thought.

Lionel stared the young man before him. He could see the incredulous expression on his mannerisms.

Lionel was a very old man, but lucid and wise. He was good at reading people and sensing their feelings – a skill he developed over the centuries. He was also good in keeping a poker face while he studied people.

"I don't understand, or maybe I do…but Piers has a lower lifespan than the others…" he thought and opened the drawer of his desk and took a wooden box and placed it over the table, "Open the box, please"

Piers obeyed to him and saw two glass bottles, one containing a black powder and the other black pills, and below them, there were some papers.

"You may not know, but I study a lot about everything. I'm graduated in biology and chemistry schools besides being a minister of the Art of Bohma. As a researcher in such fields, I have studied intensely that particular content and I feel I must give it to you…"

"What is it?" Piers asked

"They are made of a very rare herb, so far only found in a cave at the province of Arthena, actually in the area of the ruins of Arthena that was flooded two centuries ago, a place of very difficult access now"

"Why are you giving me this?"

"It's a gift"

"I'm sorry but I can't accept such a gift when I don't know the origins of it"

"It's all in the notes and in the flash drive"

Piers frowned and read the notes in the papers, and the pictures of a black herb.

"That plant has the most powerful regeneration factor ever known"

"I never heard of it"

"Exactly. So far it has only been found in the location I told you, but in the past there were several misconceptions about the herb and people believed it was evil due to the natural black color, and because of all the bad mythology about the Forbidden Cave where it grows in a very particular area and the belief that the cave had been destroyed, so the herb remained un-studied until I decided to continue the search Albert and William Walker had pioneered about the herb"

Piers frowned, "Here says it's good for healing"

"A truth"

"Have you tested it?"

"Many times"

"Did it work?"

"Never failed…it could save lives…even of terminal patients or cure diseases that are cureless so far…"

"If you know that, why are you keeping it as a secret?"

"Because it can also be misused by evil people, especially in pharmaceutical sector. They don't want people healed, they want to sell their remedies and cause more diseases so people take more medicines so they can keep their profits high. It's not interesting for them healthy people…and the contrary could happen too…"

"They could use it to create powerful biologic weapons with an un-destroyable healing factor…"

Lionel nodded in confirmation, "It tortures me to know I can save millions lives but I have to keep my silence and only save few…while waiting for the right people to pass my knowledge…the people are you and Christopher… Redfield"

Piers didn't know what to say or what to think. It's not that he didn't believe the old man's words, but as a practical man, he would need to verify all the information provided.

"Thank you Mr. Lionel for trusting us…"

The old man smiled flattered, "My pleasure Pierce…"

* * *

 **Lake Pier**

"How's life treating you, Chris?" Angelina asked as they stared the lake

"The same as usual…working a lot but no significant missions which provides some rest. And you?"

"I'm tired and needing a good rest, being a mother of a one and a half year old little girl takes a lot of my time when she's home, at least I have the help of my mother and George too"

He raised his eyebrows, "You have a daughter?"

"Yeah, Olivia"

"Oh…Cool! You don't look to be a mother…I mean…uhm…not that mothers have a look, but you look younger…"

She laughed, "Thanks, but I'm not that young. I'll turn 28 in December."

"Really? You really don't look to be that age…I'd give you 20 or 22 at max…"

"Thank you. It's good to hear that" she spoke flattered, "You look good too for what…33-34?" she guessed

He shook his head, "33? I wish!" he laughed, "…I'm a bit older than that…"

"Older?"

He nodded, "38"

She made a face, "You don't look 38 at all! I'd give you a max of 35! You definitely look great!"

He laughed a bit embarrassed. He didn't like talking about age.

"So…do you have children?"

"No"

"No?" she looked surprised, taking in account only his age

"No…" he shrugged, "not that I know of…" he joked

She smiled, "You seem to be a good father…I remember how you dealt well with those children that day in the Exhibition last year"

He made a face, "I may have some fathering skills…I kind of raised my younger sister… It must be it…"

"Oh, cool! Yeah, maybe that's the explanation you're good with children"

A moment of silence. They kept staring the lake and the nature surrounding them. It was when Chris looked back and spotted Kate and called her.

"Kate"

* * *

Kate was standing near the shore when she heard Chris' voice calling her.

"Come join us"

She looked at the pier and the water around it, and then her eyes spotted Angelina who was looking at her as well, "Thanks, I'm fine…"

"You look so lonely there…the view of the lake from here is fantastic!" he said

She forced a smile, "I can see the lake from here too…"

With a shrug, he didn't insist anymore and continued talking to Angelina.

Katerina crossed her arms, letting out a heavy sigh.

* * *

Angelina felt uncomfortable with Katerina's gazes at them – at her. She didn't feel like getting along with the brunette but couldn't help the notice the proximity she had with Chris as before the individual talk, Kate sat next to Chris and he seemed to treat her differently – the two didn't seem to lose track of each other.

Not wanting to cause any trouble assuming Chris and Kate had something, she preferred to avoid further conversation with him, and a little while after the brunette refused to join them but continued paying attention at them, Chris decided to walk over to her and sat by her side on a bench.

* * *

Katerina was in silence as they waited Piers to leave the house when she saw Chris coming at her way.

"You okay?" he asked as he sat next to her

"Yeah…" she replied almost whispering

"You sure? I never saw you so quiet…"

"Yeah…I just got a sudden headache"

"Do you want me to ask if Lionel has some analgesic or look for a drugstore?" he asked in concern

"No Chris, thank you for the concern. I'll be alright…I just need to rest a little with my eyes closed"

He took her grip, "If you want you can lay your face on my shoulder…"

She smiled blushing, "Thanks Chris…but I'm fine. It will pass soon."

* * *

Chris remained at Kate's side and looked at Angelina who was sitting on another bench near the house playing with her cellphone.

He wanted to talk more to Angelina, he enjoyed staying at her side and talk to her. From the little he knew about her, she seemed to be an independent woman and had a lot of knowledge, especially curiosities about the trips she made worldwide.

They had that in common, but for different reasons. She travelled as a tourist. He travelled for work. She did get to know more about all the places she had been. Little he did know about the places he had been.

Not to mention Angelina had an adventurous spirit and did share some hobbies in common with him, such as going on trails, camping and fishing. She had an immense love for the nature and he liked that about her, but unfortunately, he didn't see much space for him in her life and respected her relationship with her boyfriend.

Learning about Olivia had shaken him a little. Not that it bothered him the fact she was a mother, he did date Cathy who was a mother too, but that detail broke a little the idealization he had of her.

* * *

Piers left the house and greeted Angelina, and then he walked over Chris and Katerina.

"Mr. Lionel wants to speak with one of you"

"He wants to speak with me?" Kate replied in surprise

"Yes"

"About what? I don't even know him!"

Piers shrugged, "I don't know…"

"I'll go first, that gives time for her headache to pass" Chris said standing up and passed by the younger soldier

"Are you with headache?" Piers asked as he sat by her side

"Yeah…but it's passing already…"

He made a face, "Do you want to be my guinea pig?"

"What?"

He laughed, "I'm kidding…it's just I got some items from Mr. Lionel that he says is good for healing, so I thought your headache could serve as an experiment…"

"What? What did he give you?"

Piers took one bottle from his pocket and showed it to her.

Katerina frowned thoughtful. The temptation to try it crossed her mind, but also the fear that it might not be a good idea.

* * *

 **Letter to you: Chris**

"You look concerned…" Mr. Lionel commented as Chris sat before him

"Yeah…it's just that Kate's got a headache and it's weird she so quiet…"

"So she's a talkative young lady?"

"Yeah, she's very communicative and kind of restless"

"She's young…"

"Yeah, I think that has influence too…"

"I see, so how close are you?"

"She's currently my temporary personal secretary…and we are currently sharing my apartment…"

"Oh, I see…"

"But we're just friends!"

"Yeah… friends do share apartments too…"

"Yeah, actually it's also temporary… it's just that she's going through a hard phase and she got no one else to help her and I didn't see any reason in not to…"

"I see…at least she got your back in such a phase…that's an honorable gesture from you!"

Chris made a face, embarrassed with the compliment, "Helping someone is a natural thing for me… especially someone I know and I'm kind of close…as we work together and spend many hours close…"

"I see…so you're really used to her extroverted way to be and her silence affected you"

"Yeah, that's what happened"

"I see…"

"So about what would you like to talk to me?

As in Piers' case, Mr. Lionel delivered an envelope with a letter and a flash drive inside before passing his message.

"When you leave here and return to your country and work, you will have a special detail in your hands alongside your partner. I've explained to him a few things, but I'll explain you the same thing about the content I gave to him" the old man opened the drawer and retrieved another bottle and placed it on the table

Chris remained focused on the man and at the bottle, frowning when Mr. Lionel opened it and showed him a black pill.

"This pill is my greatest treasure and secret, and also of Bohma's. it's a special medicine made of a very special and unique herb that has only been found in Bohma at the ruins of Arthena. The access is difficult and many have lost their lives searching for it. As a researcher, I had the luck to manage to dig the Forbidden Cave and study it since then"

Chris listened to the man and was speechless about the whole thing. After spending so many years fighting people who created biologic weapons of all kinds, he understood Mr. Lionel's silence and fear about the release of the news about the black herb. It could turn into a chaos in the wrong hands, as already without it, there were b. that had powerful regeneration and healing skills, if other evil people had their hands in it, his fight would be fated to disgrace.

However, there was also the other side of the coin.

"It could also save lives and maybe reverse side-effects of people who have been exposed to such infections…" Chris commented immediately remembering personal cases, including his own sister Claire and especially his former partner Jill Valentine

"There could be a chance to reverse it…but I cannot affirm it. I'm passing that investigation to you, my friend. I know you're an honest and just man who want the good for people, and especially protect the ones you care the most"

"Yeah…it's what I do"

"I trust you Christopher and I believe I didn't wait all this long in vain"

"You didn't Lionel, and I promise you to give my best to preserve your legacy!...because I know it hadn't been easy to wait centuries for the right opportunity to break your silence and be able to finally rest…"

Mr. Lionel was speechless, figuring the captain of the BSAA words.

"I know your real secret Lionel. In my job you're called the "perfect B.O.W.", I'm sure that just doesn't enhance healing, it goes further than that…and through that you found us and united us to keep your good legacy."

"So you know…"

Chris nodded in agreement, "I do know! I have a vast experience to recognize B. and I see that Lionel Horvat Stafford-Hansen O'Reed became one. The oldest B.O.W. alive, but not just a B.O.W, you're the result of what all the malicious people have tried to create and failed. You're a type of B.O.W. that still keep your faculties, your sanity, your wishes just like a normal person and still keep the humanity. No one can tell you're more than an ordinary human, but you're not also a grotesque creature… You're the middle of those extremities… Mr. Lionel, 281 is a long time to endure a cycle that started, accidentally, with Katarina and her seek for joviality, the vanity…"

"So you studied me too…"

"I read a lot Lionel, despite people not knowing it… I googled things with all the info you gave to us, and all the story you told us, showed to us… I knew there was a purpose behind all that, a major one. I knew you weren't a descendant, and so I stumbled into an old picture of yours when still young and I had the help of technology to age it and compare to you…"

"So why didn't you say it before?"

"Because you're not a threat Lionel…I have lived with people that became results of such experiments and they're not a threat either…In all this long path of mine fighting the bioterrorism I have met 'b. ' that are not a threat, and they can also be handy fighting the evil creatures. I fight the evil and not b. because the real evil is in the people who create them to harm others, that's what I fight; unfortunately the majority is of evil creatures, bad people… and in our lab we try to create vaccines to all kinds of infections and hopefully try to create one that anticipate the cure of a future infection."

"Maybe now you have that chance Christopher"

Chris nodded in agreement.

"By the way, how did you know Katarina used it for her vanity?"

Chris made a face. He had a dream of it – it wasn't a google source, "I thought you commented it, no?"

Mr. Lionel grinned, he was sure he never commented that and there was nothing online mentioning that as he himself made sure to cover that up, "Yeah maybe I did…old brain" he spoke laughing as he figured Chris Redfield had had the same past life awakening through dreams – just like Angelina.

* * *

 **Outside the house**

"I hate having headache…at least it is finally diminishing" Katerina commented as she opened her eyes

"Yeah, it was weird having you so quiet"

"I told you this place gives me the creeps"

"How come? This is such a beautiful place"

"It's beautiful, but I guess there's a heavy atmosphere…heavy energies, especially that barn!"

"That looks creepy because it's abandoned"

"No! I saw a grave nearby"

"What?"

"There's a grave at the bottom side…Katarina's grave"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I saw it…I may not know how to swim but I do know how to read!"

He gasped, "I know you know how to read…it's just…why did you go there?"

"I was bored watching Christopher and his friend, so I walked around and almost stumble on it"

"Weird place to bury someone…Mr. Lionel said Christopher and Angelique were buried in the cemetery more ahead in the land, and some other people too…But he didn't say anything about Katarina"

"More dead people here? Dang! Now I know why I'm so sensitive here…how can someone live in such a place knowing it all?"

"Ask Lionel when you go talk to him after Chris"

"Why me after him?"

"Because Angelina will be the last one. It's a long talk he will have with her"

Katerina made a face and shrugged.

"So, how is it living with Chris and being his favorite?"

"Being his favorite? Are you out of your mind?"

"Aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!"

"How not? He broke up with Cathy because of you, he chose you among other receptionists, and he insisted in bringing you to the trip…it does seem he's favoring you…"

She laughed, "It seems merit and slavery, not favoritism! You're his favorite above it all!

"Merit…" he shrugged

She rolled her eyes, "And why do you care that I'm living with him? You have a girlfriend now, right?"

"I do have a girlfriend"

"So why do you ask about him sharing his apartment with me?"

"Because people talk and I got curious…about your merit with him…"

She laughed, "You're jealous!"

"No, I'm not. I have a girlfriend"

She smirked, "You're so jealous! You know you could've had prevented it if you hadn't ignored me!"

"I ignored you because I respect my girlfriend and my boss' girl…I don't want any trouble with him"

She laughed, "Is that what they're saying? That I'm his favorite girl?"

He turned his face away and stared Angelina walking to the lakeshore

* * *

Angelina was apparently right about her assumption – the brunette was Chris' girlfriend.

She shouldn't care about it, she had a boyfriend too, and a daughter with him…they were a family…but she couldn't help the thought that Katerina seemed shallow to a man like Chris. She seemed much younger than him. Something about them mismatched – and it wasn't their age difference.

She continued staring the lake and let out a heavy sigh. She had to stop thinking about the BSAA captain also stop drawing him secretively; he had his life – and at the side of Katerina.

She even considered keeping a friendly contact with him now they met again. She had even kept his contact but never had the courage to message him as it seemed ridiculous doing that after only seeing him once in her life, despite the good and comfortable conversation they had the previous year before George joined them at the exhibition.

She knew George didn't mind she had male friends, but she was sure now that not contacting her savior had been the best choice as he did have a jealousy girlfriend. She pretended she didn't notice it, but she knew Katerina remained in alert when she saw them talking.

She stopped paying attention to their conversation and focused in the chat in her cellphone with her boyfriend.

Chris left the house after a long conversation, at least, longer than Piers'.

* * *

 **Letter to you: Katerina**

"Your turn" he said to Kate as he joined his group of friends

"Are you sure?" she asked reluctant

"Yeah. Just go there, I don't think he has much to tell you as he barely knows you" he replied

Katerina looked hesitant and looked to the sides, and to Angelina far from them, and let out a sigh

"Kate, he won't bite you or anything. Just go in there." Piers encouraged her

She made a face, "Alright…I'll be right back"

Katerina walked to the house, apprehensive, intrigued. Why the old man wanted to talk to her?

As she reached the door, she made a stop and saw the old man sitting on his desk looking at her with a friendly expression.

"Kate…"

"Mr. Lionel"

"Come in and have a sit"

"Excuse me" she said as she obeyed to him

"Why are you so apprehensive? They told me you're a communicative and friendly"

"I am…but it's weird someone I don't even know interviewing me like this…"

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I like to know new people and we don't have much time to create a better friendship"

"Why do you want to be friends with me?"

"Why not?"

She made a face looking to the side

"Do you think I have second intentions?"

"Do you?" she replied looking back at him

"I don't"

"Good!"

"Yeah, but I'll be honest with you…you remind me of someone, and at the same time it did seem I had time to get to know her better, it didn't. There's never enough time to know someone, to bond with someone, to be with someone… especially those ones we care…have you ever felt that way before?"

"Yeah, I can relate, but from experience I can tell there are people that are just a waste of time and a waste of care…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…that you have met more bad seeds instead of good ones"

"Yeah…lessons from life"

"Yeah, but don't let it bitter you, you still are young and have a long life ahead and good people will come to your way if you let them…"

"They say true friends are rare, and I know who my real friends are…and those guys outside are two of them…despite all the odds"

"I noticed the three of you look close, they do share some respect for you…" he said, "Despite the odds…" he thought

"Yeah. One is my boss and the other my ex…yet friends"

"Who's the ex?"

She laughed in distress, "Piers…Why?"

"It was just a curiosity…you did look a good couple"

She made a face, "Yeah, maybe we did, but now it's over. He has a new girlfriend and I prefer stay single for a long time and soon leave my boss' apartment"

"And what about Chris?"

"What about him?"

"You said you're friends too besides being boss and employee as you live in his apartment"

"Yeah and things end there…he's not my type"

Lionel couldn't help his face, "Isn't he?"

"No way! My girlfriend sometimes nags me like you did now, but I've told her he's not my type and nothing will ever happen between me and him"

"Even if he wants it?"

She laughed in distress and made a face, "Did he tell you that?"

"He offered you his home and you have an ex that is your friend. Why the boss and not the ex?"

"Ah, because my stupid ex ignored my calls and I had no one else to help me, so Chris was the only one…but it's temporary, it's until my girlfriend returns from a trip"

"Ah I see…the adversities enabled his charitable side and made him cross the professional line…"

"Yeah, that's the case…did he tell you otherwise?"

"No, he didn't say anything…"

Kate let out a sigh – an unconscious disappointment. The insistency seemed to be sign that the captain had said something else.

"But he did comment you're very efficient and the best secretary he ever had and in whatever he can help you, he will"

Kate smiled somewhat flattered, "The grumpy captain is a great person! I owe him so much that I don't think I'll ever be capable to repay all he has done for me…I always feel like I don't deserve it…"

"Always keep in mind all the good things he has done for you, no one receives what they don't deserve. If that man has overcome limits to help you is because he cares about your wellbeing and you deserve it…just don't screw it up"

"I won't!"

"Do you promise me that?" he said serious

She nodded in agreement

"He's a great friend of mine, and so are you now…I just want the best for my friends and have the peace in the other side…"

"I won't hurt him this time!"

Lionel raised an eyebrow, "This time?"

Kate swallowed in distress and laughed, "Yeah…I know I'll sound silly…"

"I love silly stuff"

She laughed more, "Yeah but this one is very silly…but a part of me believes it…"

"Believe in what?"

"Special reencounters"

"I believe that too!"

"You do?"

He nodded in confirmation, "I do…so you think he's a special reencounter?"

She inhaled, "I do…and I'll confess to you…"

"I'm listening…and I'll take it to my grave…"

She couldn't help the grin and inhaled again, "When we met, it seemed there was a wall between us that has progressively been lapidated… Initially I had doubts it would work he being my boss because I had a distorted conception about him… and I know I keep telling he's not my type but I know something connects us…and that became more evident when he homed me when there was no one else there for me and all the things he has done for this broke girl because I have no home, no money, I have nothing… I have no one else to stand up for me and he's the only one who has done it and doesn't expect anything in return besides my wellbeing… and this embarrasses me sometimes because I don't think I deserve it and before that I did something that caused his current sadness and I don't know how to repair it and I have no courage to tell him that I was wrong too when I teased his ex-girlfriend at work and…and because of that they broke up… I don't know what happens to me to do such shit…when I realize I already exploded and acted under impulse, and then I regret right away but then I do the same thing and keep on hating myself…this is not just with him, but other people too…and whenever I feel harmed, I harm back even for petty reasons…"

"I understand. I know it's hard to correct ourselves and fix our flaws... It's good that you're aware of it, but it's not enough when you continue repeating the pattern…"

"It's awful! He doesn't deserve it! But I don't know what would be of me if he found out that…"

"Do you think he doesn't know it?"

"He doesn't!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can feel it…I know he's a rock but I know how to read his subtleness…he's transparent to my eyes…"

He made a face, "Can you tell me what your thought that culminated to the fight was?"

"I never thought she was a decent woman at his level"

"As in?"

"She was an annoying person. She should be the one to comprehend his often absences and the emergencies he's called. She was an agent too and she always knew who Chris Redfield was – workaholic. She nagged him about not going home to have dinner or the occasional postpones of dates and stuff… dang, he treated her son like his own! He's one of those who fights to keep the world a safer place for her son to live in! And then she nagged him about me that for whatever reason, and always bitching me…so one day I lost my temper when she came after me, told me to stay away from her man, and as I knew I bothered her so I called her loser and after that we fought…"

"She's still jealous of him…" he thought

"But then I regretted after seeing him standing up for me in the organization and how sad he got for not having her by his side, because I realized how lonely he is and I could relate to it, so I felt bad… and I feel worse now because I'm telling you this when I don't even know you!"

"Don't worry about it. I love listening to people venting…and remember, I'll take this to the grave with me. I won't tell him your confession"

"They told me you make people open up…"

He laughed a bit, "Maybe it's because of my natural charm…"

She laughed

"Or maybe because I don't judge people, so they feel more comfortable when not judged"

"Yeah…"

"I don't know if you want my advice but I'll tell you anyways"

"Alright…"

"You know it was his decision to keep the girlfriend or not, frying his patience or not…you and the woman did seem not to get along and he knew it and still stayed at her side until things got out of the limits…my advice to you: let it be. Keep in mind it's his decision and not yours who he wants by his side, unless you want to be the one at his side and you're not admitting it to yourself. It's obvious to me that you care about him and there's a tension between you two. If you want to be the one at his level, so do it the right way that won't hurt any party, and always respect his wish… when the love is forced, so it's not love. It's selfishness. And if he's really not your type…just be grateful for all the support he provides you…and in any ways, just don't screw it up again because you know what hurts him, and you also know what bothers, so think about it. The sin is not making mistakes, the real sin is making conscious mistakes…and breaking the dish that served you is a big evidence of ungratefulness…and what goes around, comes around when you least expect it"

Katerina remained thoughtful. She knew all that in theory but putting it in practice was another different thing.

"By the way, you didn't say why you think this is a special reencounter…"

"Ah, this is another crazy part, and for your face I can tell you love crazy stuff too"

He laughed, "I really do!"

She grinned, "Well, in resume: Because of some dreams"

"Dreams?"

"Yes"

"What kind of dreams?"

Kate swallowed as she blushed, "That Chris was a fisherman…"

Lionel widened his eyes in surprise, "A fisherman?"

"Yes, a fisherman I used to love…and then a crazy fortune teller told me that we met because we have to forgive each other this time so the miracle I wish will happen…"

"And what is the miracle you wish to happen?"

She blushed again and looked down with a saddened gaze, "To be a mother…"

Lionel could sense the brunette's sadness. Once the fertile Katarina that bore several important children to Bohma's history, but also a woman that killed a child in Angelique's womb, and a bad mother to her firstborn girl Madeline…

A woman that used her children to hurt Christopher and then that for her mistakes had to abandon them, and then paid it with her loneliness and the non-forgiveness of most of them.

Now she paid with a damaged womb and ovaries, and the absence of one tube.

Katerina was beautiful outside, but damaged on the inside.

.

.

To be continued…

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**


	47. My Successor

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Letter to you: Angelina**

As Katerina headed to the house, Chris looked at Angelina and walked over her. He couldn't help the urge to stay next to her. It was a strong impulse that he didn't feel like stopping it.

"You'll be next" he commented

"Yeah…I wonder why he made me the last one…"

"Probably he has something more important to tell you"

"Is there more important things when I feel I almost live here?" she spoke jokingly

"Are you that close to him?"

"Yeah! He's like the grandfather I never had"

"Yeah…he's a very wise man"

"He is, and funny. That's the reason I come here often to visit him. I like his energy and I will certainly miss him a lot!"

"Yeah, he's unique"

"He is!"

They remained in silence, standing side by side admiring the landscape.

"How long will you stay in Bohma?" she broke the silence

"Until Kate leaves the house…"

"I see…" she looked away with a sigh

"Why?"

She looked back at him, "For nothing…I was just asking because I thought you would enjoy the local festivities of the season…it's really fun!"

"I did notice the vibe of the town, but I didn't know it was because of a festivity… Will you participate?"

"Unfortunately not. I came last year, but I won't be able this time…"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like staying away from Olivia for a long time, she's still little and I don't like passing my responsibility to watch my daughter to my mother despite liking it…but I don't like feeling I'm neglecting her…"

"Ah, I see…I'm sure you're a good mother and I don't think taking some time for you means you're neglecting her…"

"Yeah, I know…but I can't help missing my baby when we're distant…"

He smiled, "Mother's thing…"

She grinned, "Probably…and you, don't think about having children at all?"

He made a thoughtful face, "Never thought of that…maybe someday…"

"You're good with children, I saw it last year, do you remember?"

"Yeah…"

"You'd be a good father"

He made a face, "but my sister kind of disagrees…" he said jokingly

"Oh she does? Why?"

"She says I'm bossy and scary…she says I used to scare away her boyfriends…" he shrugged

Angelina laughed, "You do have a serious face, but you're a soldier…and a captain! You have to be an authority somehow…yet; I have a strong feeling that you'd be a good father."

He laughed, "Yeah, but that's not what she meant…back in the days I wasn't a captain…but I don't know…my life is so full and I barely have time for myself or to even date…so I don't see it fitting my current life, unless I retire…"

"I see and you're right…you have to be a present father and not just physically speaking, but if you don't feel ready, it's better not to have it"

"Yeah! Maybe one day I'll get married and have children…who knows…for now, I don't think about that"

She grinned, "Just be careful with accidents…Olivia is the best accident I ever had!"

"Yeah, I'm careful…but…if that happens…I'll have to adapt my routine…one thing for sure is that I don't want to be an absent father…I know that feeling…when my parents died…"

"I'm sorry to hear that… and I'm sorry if I brought some bad things up…"

"Don't worry. I'm fine"

The pair looked at the lake for some time. Chris contemplated the idea of keeping in touch with the redhead, but he wasn't sure if he could ask her that, yet, he'd only know if he took the risk.

"Angie…"

She looked at him

"May I ask you something?" he said disguising his distress

"Sure"

"Is there a problem if we keep talking after we part our ways?...as friends… I mean…if there won't cause any trouble between you and your boyfriend…"

She couldn't help the smile, she had considered that possibility too, but she immediately remembered of the brunette, "No problem at all Chris…George is not a jealousy man that would forbid me to have male friends…but I'm glad you had the same thought I did, but I wasn't sure if that could be possible because of…your girlfriend"

He frowned, "What girlfriend?"

She made a face, "Kate?" she asked hesitant

He let out a gasp, "Oh, no…no…" he continued shaking his head, "She's not my girlfriend…Kate is my secretary…at work…a friend…no girlfriend…"

Angelina made a face,"Ah…I see…there are friends that live together…" she commented immediately regretting she had spoken it loud

He cleared his throat, "Yeah…but…" he was interrupted

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to listen to their conversation…" she said looking briefly at Piers who was sitting on the bench and playing with his cellphone, "But I'm not deaf and I heard when they mentioned she had moved in with you… and then I thought she was your girlfriend because of your proximity…"

"Oh no…no moving in… it's temporary…the reason why I homed her was because she's going through a hard phase and she had anyone else to help her, and she's not in conditions to bank a place for her own and she's waiting her best friend to return from a trip so she can stay with her…"

That was a long explanation he had given her. A long explanation to someone he barely knew. A long explanation from an unconscious feeling of being transparent to the redhead girl that once upon a time he did owe a long explanation to his connection with the brunette one.

They weren't aware of it now…but the lake time vortex was…very aware – very present.

Katerina left the house with an evident crying face, but as her usual – and also her old persona –, she disguised it and forced a composure she didn't really have.

"You okay?" Piers asked in concern

"Yeah, I'm fine!" she forced a large smile, "Should we get going or…" she looked at Angelina, "We us wait for her?"

Angelina shook her head in denial, "No, you guys can go ahead. When I leave here I'll go straight to my home as you know…" she said looking at Chris

"Yeah, I know…and we also have to get back to our hotel in Edonia…"

"Alright…so we say our goodbyes here and wish you to have a safe trip back to Edonia and to your home too…" Angelina said friendly

"Thanks and you too!" Piers said

"You're welcome!" the redhead nodded with a smile

"Good bye Angie…It was nice seeing you again" Chris said stepping closer to her and gave her a friendly hug, and whispered in her ear, "We talk later…"

Angelina hugged him back, "It was great seeing you too and we definitely will talk later, Chris…" she whispered enjoying his warm arms around her waist – the best hug she ever felt.

Katerina inhaled deeply and looked away annoyed in the direction of the barn.

A loud snap came from the barn's woods scaring them, but Katerina who was too focused in her own boiling feelings. Her stabbing gaze met Angelina's who immediately let go of Chris whom was oblivious to his secretary's jealousy gaze.

Piers was the most neutral party and watched the subtle drama happening. He sensed it would be better if Chris started following his own advice about getting in trouble because of Kate.

Katerina walked away first and was followed by Piers.

Chris smiled and waved at Angelina one last time before joining the others.

Angelina smiled back at him, and watched the trio leave, with a mix of feelings.

She wasn't deaf of blind, and much less stupid. Katerina might not be Chris' girlfriend, but she did have some feelings for him as her subtle, yet evident pissed gazes demonstrated she disliked her since their eyes first met.

A mutual feeling, despite Angelina not having such stabbing thoughts, yet both women disliked each other.

After letting out a heavy sigh, Angelina entered turned to the house and saw Mr. Lionel standing at the door.

"Mr. Lionel, are you alright?" she asked him

"Yes my dear…I thought I heard a loud noise…"

"You heard it too?" she said surprised

"Yeah"

"It came from the barn"

"Oh…today the woods there are snapping…" he said making a face

"Don't speak that way…you're getting me scared…" Angelina said spooked wondering if that could be something supernatural

Lionel couldn't help the laugh, "Don't worry dear…it's an old barn…old woods…it should be demolished soon… but come on in. It's your turn to listen to the babblings of this old man"

* * *

"Are you guys in a hurry to get back to the hotel?" Chris said after looking at his watch as they left the lake property

"No…why do you ask?" Piers replied

"Angelina said that is happening a local festivity in town…"

Katerina crossed her arms and rolled her eyes discreetly at the mention of that name – "of course he had to do what the precious redhead lover suggested…" she thought looking away

"And since today we got the day off, I thought we could enjoy it as we're here…" Chris said with a friendly expression

"I'm in!" Piers said and the men stared at Katerina who was looking away at that moment

"And you Kate?" Chris asked

"Me what?" she replied

"Do you want to join us to the local festivities or do you prefer to get back to Edonia?" he replied

She grinned in distress, "Oh…of course! I was wondering about it because old Lionel had commented with me but I wasn't sure if you would want…"

"If the boss wants to party, who we are to disobey!" Piers said playfully poking Chris on the shoulder

They laughed and headed to downtown of Bohma where the main events occurred.

* * *

 **Lake House**

"I can sense someone extremely happy, huh!" Mr. Lionel commented jokingly as he sat on the armchair

Angelina couldn't deny the indirect comment but so direct, "I can't hide that from you…"

"You don't have to hide that from me, and you don't have to worry because I'll take your secret to my grave with me"

"No secret and you know that…I don't deny the fact that I like my savior! For some reason I feel so comfortable around him…he has a good energy"

"Surely he's a good man, but it is a secret my dear…you boyfriend doesn't know about those drawings of yours…"

"You know it's not that I hide it from him…it's just that I don't want him to have the wrong idea, so to avoid unnecessary arguments on the matter, I prefer keeping it just between you and me"

"I understand my dear and I'm good at keeping secrets!"

"I bet you are!" she laughed, "So…what would you like to talk to me if there's anything else for us to talk since we are almost always in contact…"

He made a face, "My will…I need to revise it as a new important detail showed up and I need to make new arrangements in the division of things…"

"And what do I have to do with that?"

"Could you grab the pink envelope inside the desk drawer, will you?"

She did it so and looked at him

"Everything has to do with you…now please read it, and then tell me your opinion"

Angelina sat on the couch next to him and her eyes could not believe what had been written. She read the paper one more time to be sure she wasn't misreading the text.

Lionel watched the redhead's reactions. He wasn't surprised. He knew she was going to react that way and he was already prepared to her objection.

"Mr…this can't be right…" she stuttered

"All this belong to you, but the red box in the bedroom I sleep…that box will be the new detail of my new will"

"I don't understand…why are you leaving me the lake property and the "peasant" cottage? Those properties belong to your family!"

"You're part of my family, Angely…"

"But…"

"I'm being just to everyone! You don't have to worry about it. The stocks I don't want the public to have access are kept in the upper level bedroom. My great-grandson is already aware of it and he cannot oppose my last wishes. No one in my blood family will oppose my will. I can guarantee you that"

"Why me?" she said emotional

"Why not you, Angely? Why not?"

"I…"

"You belong here and I've told you that many times! You love this place, like I do! I'm sure no one else could watch out of her like you!"

"Mr. Lionel…I know you see Angelique in me, but…I'm not her… I can't accept this because she was part of your family…but I'm not…I'm Angelina…"

"I know who you are Angelina and I know you're not Angelique, my deceased great-grandmother…I may be old, very old, but my mental faculties are entirely functional"

She covered her mouth, "I don't know what to say…or what to think…"

"You don't have to do anything, just accept my will…"

She let out a deep sigh, "And what do I do with the red box? And the demolition of the barn?"

"I'll leave you the instructions about it, and you don't have to demolish it if you don't want to…I was only joking about it because of the noises…"

"Ah, I see…"

He made a face, "But you will decide what you will do about it as you'll see Katarina's grave next to it…"

"Katarina is buried there?" she asked surprised

He nodded in confirmation, "There's more history in this land than you know…and it's all in my diaries that I will leave to you as well…"

"I can see you have more secrets than I assumed…"

He grinned, "Yes…and Christopher found out one of them…"

She made a face, "Christopher Redfield or Christopher Reed?" she asked not really knowing what made her ask that

He grinned, "Chris Redfield…I was surprised about his clinical eye…I liked being caught off guard by him…and I'm sure you'll ask him and he might confirm you what is already in one of my diaries that you'll surely read after my death…"

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"No…not now"

"And what else will you tell me that will make me agree with your last wish and not be scared of the consequences?"

He rested his back on the couch and spoke calmly, "many years ago, before the course of the river was modified and the Stafford's bought the land and when Bohma was a much smaller province, passing across those trees near the chapel where the lake ends, once upon a time, an old couple lived in a small wooden cottage that no longer exists anymore. In that region now lies the cemetery of the property where some Stafford's have been buried, and also the remains of a young couple. A couple in which their history became part of the folklore of Bohma…"

"The Drowned Lovers folktale…"

"Yes…"

"The story of a young couple that died together fighting for their love. They say their restless spirits still struggle to be together and haunt the area of the river and the lake…this lake…"

He laughed, "They don't haunt. I can guarantee that"

Angelina laughed, "It's good to know they don't haunt or I'd have to decline your last wish and not accept the lake property" she said playfully

"They don't haunt, but they still struggle whenever they are…"

"So they did actually exist?"

"They did, in the 14th century"

Angelina made a face. The lake property was a beautiful place but also the cemetery of many souls. She knew there some of the Stafford's had been buried there, and also Christopher and Angelique had been buried in another area of the land. She had visited their grave and she never forgot the weird sensation she felt the first time she saw it, although she wasn't aware Katarina had been buried in that land either, after all, she didn't explore much the area of the barn that always caused her some disturbance, making her to stay away.

"None of the ghosts haunt here anymore…" Lionel commented noticing her long silence

She laughed a bit, "That wasn't my real concern…I was just thinking that is weird knowing the remains of Katarina are so close…Why?"

"Because the barn was her last shelter. She spent her final year in there and died there…so I didn't know anywhere else she'd belong as everybody else rejected her…"

Angelina frowned making a face. She heard it right, did she? "He" didn't know where Katarina should be buried? She wasn't sure of what to think.

There were so many things crossing her mind since she read the will. It wasn't just about the properties, it was about the history it had. All the knowledge and secrets that man had kept and dedicated all his life to protect. To keep it's importance.

Why did he consider her so much if he had his functioning mental faculties and didn't mistake her for Angelique or whoever else?

She looked at him. Studying him. He always had consideration for her and always helped her with anything she needed. He always listened to her and her intuition never suspected of him, and she didn't use to mistake.

She really didn't know what to say, yet she felt so connected to that place. She didn't really want to refuse it, she had only been caught off guard for such gesture.

* * *

 **Downtown, Bohma**

The BSAA trio wandered the streets. The Art and architecture incorporated in a Romanesque style that shifted to a Gothic style, combined with the modernity of the streets and the inhabitants lifestyle.

Katerina as the youngest of the group and the most cheerful of the three. Her extroverted way contrasted with the more serious demeanors of the men accompanying her. Looking from afar, they seemed more to be her bodyguards.

They wandered the central plaza where local artists performing a cover of the song "John Ryan's Polka", and some dancers also performing the local dance. Katerina couldn't help the urge to join them and enjoy the fun.

Piers and Chris exchanged gazes, sharing the same thought: Kate was the star of the plaza and her outgoing way inspired some other locals to join the fun as well.

Chris looked to the side and noticed a tavern with medieval architecture, and told Piers to tell Katerina where to find them.

"We're going to the tavern. You can meet us there when you're done here…" Piers yelled among the loud music playing

"What? Tavern? Sure!" she replied in excitement and immediately followed him

Chris was sitting drinking a local beer in a jumbo beer mug as he waited his companion and the order of snacks to eat with the beer.

As he waited, he checked his cellphone and read the messages of his sister telling him about her current trip, as since the incident in Sushestvovanie, she was spending some time in vacation.

Piers and Kate entered the tavern and didn't take long to spot their boss, and joined him at the table. As soon as they sat, the waitress served the snacks: a portion of French-fries and a portion of fried chicken wings.

"Would you like to drink anything?" the waitress asked the two

"I want a jumbo like his" Kate replied pointing with her head to Chris

"And you?"

"A medium-sized" Piers replied

As soon the waitress left the table, Piers turned to Kate who was sitting before Chris and eating some French-fries, "Are you sure you want a jumbo?" he asked

"Yeah! I'm thirsty and I miss the alcohol in my veins! It's been a while…"

"Just don't lose control. I won't babysit any drunken" he replied to her with a warning tone

"It's just a glass, not a barrel!" she replied taking a bite of a fried chicken

"You'd better handle it because I still remember that night in the nightclub and all the glasses of vodka you took and…" he lowered his voice tone as he looked at Chris who was watching them, "And I don't want that to happen again…" he omitted details

"If I don't remember it, I didn't do it" she shrugged jokingly

* * *

 **Lake Land**

Angelina stood facing the lake and the surroundings and it hadn't sunken in the thought that all that soon will belong to her. She never thought the small piece of heaven on earth would be hers. The lake and its crystalline greened waters had a powerful tranquilizing effect on her, despite all the stories Mr. Lionel had told her about the land, and the buried souls resting there.

She wasn't scared of that. Death, the possibility of afterlife and esoteric themes always intrigued her, and eventually made her curious about it, and at times research on the subjects.

Despite adoring Mr. Lionel's good sense of humor, she always thought fascinating the mysterious aura he carried around him and the loads of knowledge he had. She knew he was intriguing and at times she always wondered if there was a coincidence the ancestor of same name and similar face features, yet younger, that lived in the 18th century - King Lionel Horvat Stafford-Hansen O'Reed.

The king that pitied Katarina O'Gregon and abdicated the throne to take care of her.

Could they be the same person due to the effect of the black pill?

She only knew the old man she cared about so much as Mr. Lionel O'Reed. Of course, she was aware that could be only a coincidence, as it's not surprising the fact of repeating names in a family tree.

Same person or not, she cared for him and was willing to take the hardest task of her life – to be his successor and the keeper of the Lake House and its entire history, and carry on the old man's legacy.

She inhaled deeply the fresh air, inhaling the good scent of the trees that came from the sudden breeze that had a balm effect on her, and let out a long sigh as she turned to her side and stared the smiling old man at her side enjoying the same view as her.

He rested his left hand on her left shoulder, and she rested her head on his left shoulder in a friendly embrace.

Mr. Lionel let out a long relieved sigh as his gazed seemed distant staring the lake, feeling the comfortable breeze on their skins and the delicious pines scent, making him smile as he passed, or more exactly, returned the legacy to the true owners of that property, while his special eyes watched the prism of time and the souls and all the energies lying there lining up to the vortex.

Lionel and Angelina turned around to return to the house. He turned his face to the right side to look at the barn. He smiled. As Angelina walked more ahead of him, she couldn't see when he looked back to the corner of the barn and gave a flick of the head with a light smile to the mysterious figure of a woman watching them.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**


	48. Don't Phunk With My Heart

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content**

* * *

 **Downtown, Bohma**

The trio talked while they ate and drank in a friendly happy-hour – a much needed one. Leaving the routine of work-home, work-home had become a so automatic that it felt different not having to worry about work concerns or the loneliness of home.

They shared past experiences when they thought they had "normal" lives. Chris commented that once or another he missed going to camp or go for a hike and fishing.

"You fish?" Kate asked raising an eyebrow in incredulity due to the fact Chris was quite temperamental to enjoy such practice

"I do! I guess you didn't notice but there is an old picture at the living room shelf of me on a boat at a lake holding a fish"

"No, I didn't notice it…we didn't spend enough time at your place or in the living room for me to see it…"

He giggled, "True because of this trip"

They ordered more beer. Piers listened to their conversation. It was weird his best friend tagging along with his former love interest in such intimacy because while he asked Claire to see an old picture of Chris before the muscles, now he himself deliberately wanted to show Kate an old picture of his.

The truth was the Piers had never visited Chris' apartment so far, and now Kate lived there. Yeah…It was still weird seeing those two so close despite Chris had denied any intimacy with the young brunette.

Piers looked at the watch – 7:30PM. It was already dark outside and at distance they could listen to the music band playing their songs and apparently the sound seemed to get closer.

"I guess we should sleep in town…we lost the last train to Edonia" the second-in-command commented

"But there's still the boat" Chris replied

"No boats…" Kate intruded sharply making the men look at her, "I hate boats, rivers, pools, sea…deep water…especially at night! No way I'll get in a boat to trespass the river…"

"Or the bus…" Chris added

"No bridges at night! Sorry…if you two want to get back to Edonia together you can go, but I'll stay here until I see the daylight again" she shrugged

The men exchanged gazes sharing the same thought: Kate had decided their fate that night.

"I don't see any problem spending the night in a hotel. All we have to do is to find one…" Chris said

Piers nodded in agreement and soon after, they saw the music band entering the tavern. The show now was complete: food, drinks, loud music, people dancing – exactly the way Kate loved. She couldn't help the party bubble and joined the people on the dance floor.

The grumpy men remained at the table drinking their beer and eating, the hours passed and from time to time they to a look at the dance floor and witnessed Kate's popularity with the band and some male dance partners. She danced, she drank, she laughed. Her spirit was free and she loved the free drinks she got, and also some flirtations.

Chris tried to disguise he didn't look and drank more beers, while Piers couldn't disguise his discomfort.

"The party is over for me. I'm going to the bathroom and look for a hotel for us"

"What about Kate?" Chris asked

"You gave the idea. She's your concern and not mine. I said I wouldn't babysit any drunk people"

"She's not my concern, she can do whatever she wants" Chris replied already showing some signs of alteration due to the alcohol

"So stop drinking due to the attention she's getting with the men"

"What the hell are you saying? You're the one jealous"

"Yeah, I am jealous but I'm past! You're the one responsible for her now"

"So I'm going to solve it right away!" Chris said standing up and headed to the dance floor not minding if he was pushing away some people from his way. With his size, he didn't need much to pass by the people who disliked his rudeness.

Kate was taking a sip of the local vodka glass when she felt someone grabbing her forearm.

"Party is over"

She heard a rough voice and immediately spotted Chris with a serious demeanor seemly to a jealousy boyfriend, and if there was any male candidate trying to hit on her, surely he wouldn't show himself at that exact moment.

- _Talk about the scared away boyfriends of Claire_ -

He didn't pull her but his serious expression was enough to make her follow him without protesting.

Piers had paid the bill and waited for them outside. With the bartender, he got the address of a small hotel that was farther from that noisy location, in a suburban area.

* * *

The trio walked to the hotel. Chris with a grumpier expression, Piers trying to remain calm while Kate walked stumbling while she continued drinking her vodka can and sang loud several songs, including a personalized song:

" _One, two, three  
Not only you and me  
Got one eighty degrees  
And I'm caught in between  
Countin'  
One, two, three  
Peter, Paul and Mary  
Gettin' down with 3P  
Everybody loves me_

 _Merrier the more  
Triple fun that way  
Twister on the floor  
What do you say?_

 _Are you in  
Livin' in sin is the new thing (yeah)  
Are, you in  
I am countin'_

 _What we do is innocent  
Just for fun and nothin' meant  
If you don't like the company  
Let's just do it you and me  
You and me  
Or three  
Or four  
_

 _On the floor!_

 _One, two, three  
Not only you and me  
Got one eighty degrees  
And I'm caught in between  
Countin'  
One, two, three  
Piers, Chris and Katie  
Gettin' down with 3P  
Everybody loves Oh"_

The men ignored the special lyrics and continued the walk.

"I want to pee" Kate said as she raised her skirt and headed to an alley

"You can't pee here!" Piers said immediately grabbing hold of her hands before she lifted it

"But I want to pee! I'll be quick. No panties, you know?"

"Don't pee in public!"

"Why not? Men do that all the time…"

"No Kate! Hold the bladder, we're almost at the hotel"

"So let's be quick or I can't hold it"

(**)

 **Burlesque Hotel, Bohma**

"Good evening" a redhead receptionist friendly welcomed the trio

"We'd like two standard rooms, one with two beds." Piers said

"Two? Why not one with 3 beds?" Chris replied as he watched Kate sitting on the reception couch

"I told you she's your responsibility"

"She's drunk"

"So are you!"

"Miss, where can I pee?" Kate asked interrupting their argument

"The toilet rooms are to the right and then in the of the hallway turn to the left"

"Thank you!" Kate said bowing the woman who smiled friendly as she held the urge to laugh of the trio. Tourists knew how to be funny.

"You should help her" Piers said to Chris

The hazel-eyed man made a face, "I'm not going to enter the girls' toilet. You go help her."

"I can't go…I have a girlfriend"

"So what does she have to do with it? She's miles from here!"

"No, I owe her respect."

Chris exhaled and looked at the receptionist, "Can you aid her?"

She shook her head, "Sorry. I can't leave the reception but you can go with her. It's a single toilet and there's no one there besides your girlfriend"

"She's not my girlfriend" he said almost in a rude way

"I'm sorry for my misjudgment"

"Go stay at the door, I'll solve things here" Piers said pointing to the hallway

Chris inhaled and let out a heavy sigh. As he walked he looked back – wait a minute, he was the boss and not Piers. Why was he receiving orders from his subordinate?- he waited outside at the hallway

* * *

Kate looked at her reflection in the mirror and took a red lipstick from her purse to retouch it. She was drunk but conscious enough in not mistaking the lips. She removed her strapless bra as it was already bothering her. She smiled to her reflection before leaving the toilet room. When she opened the door, she had a fright when she saw Chris standing still looking at her.

He grinned at her face.

"Do you want me to wait for you now?" she joked

He giggled, "No. I thought you could need help to find the toilet"

They laughed. Not because the joke from serious Chris was funny, but only because of the effect of the alcohol.

They walked back at the reception where Piers awaited them while he talked to the beautiful ginger receptionist.

"Red world…" Kate murmured feeling jealousy. Apparently, Bohma only had gingers to piss her – a reference to Angelina as well.

"What?" Chris asked

"Nothing…" she replied laughing

In the elevator Kate hummed " _I tried my best to feed her appetite  
Keep her coming every night  
So hard to keep her satisfied  
Oh, kept playing love like it was just a game  
Pretending to feel the same  
Then turn around and leave again_

 _But, oh, this love has taken its toll on me  
She said goodbye too many times before  
And her heart is breaking in front of me  
I have no choice 'cause I won't say goodbye anymore woah, woah, woah"_

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Piers took a pair of keycards and delivered one to Chris.

"Deluxe Suite for you. Standard room for me"

"Deluxe Suite? Why you didn't get three standard rooms?"

"Those were the only available. I tried to book 2 beds for the standard room but the room is too small for that and there were no extra beds available"

"I want the standard room" Chris said

"I'll take the standard room!" Kate replied with conviction

"You're not in condition to stay alone" Piers contested

Kate smiled making a face, "I'm fine! Boys stay together…"

"You stay with her" Chris said

"I said I won't babysit anyone" Piers replied

"You just want the single bedroom to have your good time with the receptionist!" Kate said

"What? I have a girlfriend!" Piers protested

"You have a dick too right now with you. Not your girlfriend!"

Chris bursted into laughter. Kate couldn't help it and laughed too.

Piers frowned pissed, "You live together, so you stay together. Have a good night!" he said walking away

Chris and Kate looked at each other and bursted into another laughter, "Someone is jealous…" Kate commented with a mock

"Yeah! So now…ladies first!" Chris replied waving at her to lead the hallway

"Which room is it?" she asked

"3D"

"3D huh? If I were a guy that'd be funny" she said in a joking way

Chris grinned in agreement.

They entered the room, which had an inviting to settle in. Sleek lines and simple geometric shapes; blond hardwood floors, marble bathroom counters and brushed chrome fixtures; a woven blanket in soothing sand and chocolate tones; a splash of color with a pomegranate cushion. There was a king-sized bed, a Malina Modular mid-century chair, a TV, a CD/DVD player, air conditioning, and a minibar with several types of drinks, glasses, Wi-Fi connection, 1 phone and a laptop-sized safe, and a small table with two chairs. The elegant ensuite bathroom had a wet room with a rain shower and L'Occitane toiletries. Small details - an umbrella and a bedside clock showing the date and temperature.

Only one bed –king size – but still only one bed. Chris looked at the Malina chair and if there was an ottoman maybe, he could try to sleep there.

Kate headed to the minibar, grabbed a gin can, opened it and took a long sip.

"You're going to drink more?"

"Yeah, I'm thirsty" she replied

"Drink water"

She raised the can bouncing it to him, "My water!" she said with a naughty expression

"No way! Give me that"

"Are you thirsty too?"

"Yeah…now give me that"

She smiled shaking her head in denial, "There's more in the fridge"

"You can't drink anymore"

"This is the last one. I promise!" she said taking another sip

Chris was altered despite not showing it clearly. He tried to take it from Kate's hand, but she dodge him, as his reflex was slower. However, her balance wasn't the best either and she ended up falling on the ground. The can slip from her hand and the liquid splattered around.

He laughed.

"This isn't funny!" she said bursting into laughter as well

Chris waved to help her stand, but she lost her balance again before reaching his hand. She felt on her back, laughing.

Chris laughed at the same time he didn't know where to look at, as her open legs and the lifted skirt exposed her full private area to him.

Ignoring her folds, he knelt next to her to help her sit, "Party is over"

She gave a glimpse at him, "You're kinda handsome" she said with a flirty tone

He laughed, "Thanks. Now you should clean yourself and go to sleep"

"I'm not sleepy…" she replied next to his ear, "I'm horny"

He giggled, "What?"

She didn't reply and with her right hand she pulled him by the neck and kissed him.

Chris was taken off guard and lost his balance and lied on top of her. He tried to fight back without hurting her, but she locked her legs around his hips.

"What are you doing?" he said looking down as much he could

"The party is just getting started!" she replied licking his neck and using her hands to unzip his pants

"Kate…" he whispered unable to say anything else as she rolled over him, sitting on his thighs and put the top of his underwear down and pulled out his shaft.

Chris was drunk enough to try to fight back, when in fact he was enjoying her massaging him. she bent over him and they kissed again. She didn't need much insistency to make him kiss her back as a turmoil of emotions and sensations took over him.

Maybe he was needy as there was a while he didn't get laid and aware he was single, why reject a beautiful woman like Kate and her burning fire.

Okay, he was drunk but enjoying her pelvis rubbing against his member, while her fierce warm tongue danced into his mouth or when her lips or sucked hard his lips or his neck, leaving red marks on the delicate skin. He liked that. That was a good aggression.

Kate was a ferocious lover and the burning wilderness increased by the alcohol made her lose control of any rationality about who was the man she was giving her in. in fact, his kiss was as tenacious as her and his wild teeth on her neck made her groan in pleasure.

She raised her torso up again and smiled with a naughty expression with the sight below her, "That isn't a handgun you have, but a rifle!" she said playing his full exposed manhood – a doubt she always had about "juicers"

He laughed, "Do you like it?"

"I loved it!" she said licking her lips seductively

"Give it a kiss" he said with a naughty face

She bit her lips seductively, "Let's go to the bed…or the couch…"

He stood up with less difficulties, took of his pants and underwear, and then sat by the border of the bed, while Kate crawled in his direction, kneeling between his open legs.

She grabbed his member gently with one hand and with the other hand, she massaged his balls, teasing him to beg for her lips, for her mouth, for her throat.

He looked down at her, seeing the lust in her gaze. He liked her game of seduction pressing all his buttons to beg for her. The abstinence period surely had the bad effect of making thing hard for him to hold himself and a bit of liquid released from the tip. And he almost exploded when she licked it like a lollipop, and then sucked it.

He closed his eyes, his breathing choked. He needed to stay up longer and satisfy her as well.

"Stop or I'll come…" he said with a husky voice

"But I want you to come…or are you the type that only party once?"

"I can party all night!" he said raising her up and lifted her blouse to lick and suck her hard nipples.

She played herself while his hands grabbed her tits firm and his mouth explored her skin

The turmoil of emotions took over him again. How could he deal with the sudden anger boiling in him while his body wanted to continue the game?

Why did he feel so pissed…at Kate? Right now?

He choked. He frowned and looked away, releasing his hands from her, stood up and stepped away.

"Chris?" she asked in puzzlement

He remained in silence looking at the window.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern

"Party is over…we can't do this"

"We are already doing this!"

"I'm your boss. You owe me obedience"

"We're not working…well…we're working but in something else and I was obeying to you when went down your south!"

"Kate, don't insist!" he shouted, "Please…" he immediately lowered his voice tone, "I'm not in the mood anymore"

Rejected, a boiling anger ignited inside her, "You idiot!" she cursed him

Chris didn't reply and walked to gather his clothing from the floor and put them on, "I'm sorry…" he said avoiding eye contact.

"Go to hell!" she shouted bitterly

Carrying his shoes, he walked out of the room. Ashamed and confused, he didn't want to throw his sudden anger onto Kate who had nothing to do with it. He was the one failing to keep his locks on. He hated the feeling he had taken advantage of her, but at the same time, he feared that if he had continued the game he could hurt her. He didn't want that.

But for now he didn't want to think about that. He called Piers to know his room, hoping the subordinate would still be up.

"Chris?" Piers had a puzzled expression when he opened the door and saw Chris' face expression

"Please, let me stay here or I'll go find another place for me…"

"What happened? How's Kate?" a kind of a stupid question as he had seen all the red marks around his lips, mouth and shirt collarbone.

"I don't want to talk about it, but she's fine until I left"

"I'll go check her…"

Chris nodded in agreement and sat on the bed.

* * *

" _If this is really living  
Why am I so unforgiving  
Half the world is down the toilet  
Half is on its way_

 _Ask me why you're feeling screwed  
And I'll give you the answer  
There's a colin, dick, and bush  
Just a hammerin' away_"

"Son of a bitch! Limp dick! Moron juicer! Who does he think he is to use me like that? 'I can party all night'…loser!" Kate cursed while alone in the room drinking a small bottle of vodka listening to a rock channel. After some insistence, she finally listened to the knocks on the door.

She rolled her eyes thinking it might be Chris, "Motherfucker!" she murmured delaying to open the door. She played with her cellphone when she saw a message alert.

"It's me, Piers. Open the door, will you?"

She gasped raising an eyebrow, "A real man…at least this one finishes the job!" she commented as she stood up and headed to the door starting to feel dizzy.

Piers entered the room, noticing the mess and the strong scent of gin in the air. Kate's makeup blurred, and her drunk walk.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, while he cleaned the mess his superior and the personal assistant had made, and keeping his personal opinion only to him as the following morning he pretended nothing happened.

* * *

 **ROOM 3C**

Chris was in the bathroom washing his face when he saw his reflection in the mirror – and Kate's marks – on his skin.

He washed his face with cold water again after remembering her. Shame. He crossed the line he wasn't ready to sink in. he knew she was probably thinking the worst of him and the fact that he'd have to face her the next morning tortured him.

But it didn't matter how hard he tried to forget the incident, his memories kept taking him back to the lust moments, "Idiot!" he cursed himself in the mirror

After leaving the bathroom, and grabbing a mini bottle of vodka in the minibar, he sat on the bed. Sip after sip, the confusion in his mind put him to sleep.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **I'd like to thank** **Atreus Froothduun, Lilty-kun, and** **MissBeckyJolene for favoring and following the story :D  
**


	49. Veils

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

I saw myself at a large beach with an extensive range of fine white sand.  
A flowering vegetation framed the scenery, and a refreshing breeze rolled the fine sand beneath my feet.  
The bright sun illuminated the whole region, sprinkling pleasant heat, reflecting its light and coloring even more that environment that inspired peace and tranquility.  
I could hear the waves crashing, cadenced the short distance from where I was, and a soft, refreshing breeze made my clothes shake.  
A few steps later, I saw a person sitting on the beach watching the waves coming and going.  
As I approached, I recognized the young woman immediately.  
Her long hair was shaken by the sea wind. She was barefoot, her feet lightly tucked into the sand of the beach, she was all dressed in white, her clothes looked like light cotton cloth, an Indian-style white robe. I sat beside her and remained silent, looking at that sea of fantastic blue and listening to the waves breaking before us. And in my heart an enormous certainty of taking advantage of that moment and apologizing for the misunderstanding of the past.

I noticed that she stared at the horizon and after a deep sigh, she turned to me with those immense greenish eyes full of tears and spoke in a voice choked with emotion:

"He we are again…after failing again… I failed badly."

I looked at her and saw tears rolling down her face. I had never seen Kate cry, at any moment. That image was etched in my soul, and at that moment, I felt a great compassion for - my old love – how could I think that?

I looked at the horizon again and the scenery magically changed and I felt abruptly falling into a dark hole. I couldn't see anything besides the darkness and at some moments I saw flashes of lightning and heard thunders. I tried to find some balance, but I felt dragged in the seemly strong flow of cold water.

"Kate! Kate!" I screamed her name

"Chris!"

I heard her screaming voice calling me and then I felt someone grabbing my left arm tightly. Then I felt hitting on something and a sharp pain cored through my body. I choked. I couldn't breathe and then I saw the scenery changing again.

"This place is…"

I said as I saw myself standing at the lake shore. It wasn't dark anymore. The sun was rising. My eyes widened and a despair cored through me as I saw two bodies floating down the river. Taken by a sudden impulse I ran to jump into the water to help them, and then I screamed at an old couple that were at the end border of the lake where the bodies were floating in their direction.

"Hey, help them! They might be drowning!" I screamed to make them notice me

The old man who seemed to be a fisher looked at me and waved.

I didn't want a wave, I wanted to save those people!

"Help them!" I screamed again pointing at the lake, and then the realization of the bodies that had disappeared only gave me one thought: They had drowned and they could be sinking to the bottom of the lake.

Immediately I ran to that border where I encountered the old couple looking at me with a strange calm expression.

"Chris…"

How the hell could that man know my name?

"The couple…they drowned. Why didn't you help them?" I said with a tone of lecture

The old man and the old woman exchanged gazes.

"There was nothing we could do for them…" the old woman said with an intriguing calmness

Somehow, I thought those people were familiar. I just couldn't recall where I had seen them.

I exhaled pissed. I know they were old but they could have had tried, though, I kept that thought only to myself.

"I'm going to jump into the water and rescue them…or what's left of them!" I said heading to the shore, and soon after, I felt something grabbing my right forearm. I looked back to see and the surprise caught me as I saw Mr. Lionel, alone, with his usual calm demeanor.

"I already rescued them. They're lying in there…" he replied pointing at a grave where I saw a young brunette woman wearing a light pink dress, holding the left arm of a young man who wore green pants and a white long-sleeved cotton shirt

I gasped, "How come? How could you be so fast? Where are the old couple I just saw here?" I questioned already feeling confused

Lionel smiled briefly, "Come on son, let's have some tea so you can rest a little"

"No, I don't want to rest! I need answers! What the hell is going on here? Where's Kate?"

"Sleeping…"

"She wasn't sleeping! I saw her a while ago!"

"Come on Chris, you need a rest. I'll give you answers later"

"Not later. I want answers now!"

"So let's go back to the house…" he said taking the lead

"To the house? Are you going to leave their…bodies...uncovered…" I protested looking back to the location of the grave and mysteriously the bodies had disappeared

"I already took care of them" he replied strangely calm

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked as I followed him back to the house area

"You came looking for answers, I will give you some answers"

"Nothing makes sense here!"

"It happens…"

I gasped, "Many things are happening and none of them seem logic"

He giggled.

Yeah nothing seemed logic and I had faced a lot of illogic things, so I had reason to say that now.

As we approached the main area, I spotted a mysterious – but familiar – woman standing at the corner of the barn.

I knew Mr. Lionel had been married, but I didn't think he still had a wife as he had always only mentioned his children and grandchildren to us – specifically his heirs.

"So, what are you going to tell me now?"

"What you need to know…for now"

"I only want a reasonable explanation"

"Have you ever heard about the story of The Drowned Lovers?"

"A folktale is your reasonable explanation?" I gasped with incredulity

"It's not a folktale. You just witnessed they existed"

"Legends are usually made up from things that supposedly happened…at some extent…"

"Do you think drowning is illogic?"

"No, I don't, but all the events as a whole, yes!"

"It's because you can't remember clearly as you memory is still mostly under a special veil so you can make things right this time"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you need to remember that once upon a time there was a pure and innocent love and that no one is perfect in this world… you need to retrieve that strong love that was tragically interrupted so you can finally be capable to face…them" he said pointing at the barn – and not to the mysterious woman still standing at the same place looking at us with a serious demeanor

"Who are in there?"

"You know who…"

I remained staring the barn, thoughtful. Something inside me knew what he was talking about, despite me not recalling what exactly.

The corner of my left eye spotted a figure standing next to the corner of the house. I turned my face in its direction, and I was surprised to see the drowned young woman staring at me with an unreadable gaze. Yet, she looked so young and so graceful. Her long light-brown wavy hair, the simple light pink dress styled in the 14th century, barefoot. She started walking slowly towards me and I was hypnotized watching her move.

A missing feeling formed in my chest. There was a long time since we…loved – each other.

Her hazel-greenish eyes stared me tenderly. Graciously she raised her delicate hand and touched my face, with a warm smile.

"Kate…" I whispered paralyzed longing for that encounter – re-encounter.

My sweet-gypsy Katherine.

"The objective of yours now is to reknow each other…Remember once upon a time there was true love" Lionel said, yet his voice seemed so distant to me

I couldn't lay off my eyes from hers, "Reknow…again" I whispering raising my right hand to touch her face – just like in the…past?

Past, present…they all seemed the same for me now. In this place. In the horizon where the souls reencountered and were exposed as who they were and what they felt.

Not so a distant past…not so long ago…

I started choking and a sudden fury emerged within my chest.

"Chris?" the sweet Kate spoke looking scared at me

I squeezed my hands trying to control myself and not enlace them around her neck.

So at that moment a loud snap was heard coming from the barn and a strong wind opened the barn doors abruptly revealing the woman in sumptuous black dress that I truly wanted to enlace my fingers around her neck.

"Katarina!" I shouted angrily rushing towards her

"Chris!" she replied with an unreadable gaze

I immediately recognized the necklace with an emerald gem she was wearing and that was the moment I really felt the most boiling fury coring in my veins as I remembered the last time I had seen it – encountered it – not so long ago. The concrete evidence of her evilness – and the moment my soul was completely disrupted by disappointment and regret for ever wanting to continue with her after all the hurt she had caused me. I hated myself for loving that woman!

I started feeling dizzy.

I didn't know if I was seeing right when I saw 18th Christopher – myself – standing inside the barn.

Then I looked around and saw "myself" next to Katherine.

What the fuck was going on now?

Choking and kneeling on the grass all I wanted was all that to stop.

I looked up for an instance and saw the 17th dowser – the NYC seer – knelt before me with her hand on my chest.

"That emptiness and chest pain will only heal when you love again and forgive each other!" she spoke with a serious face

Lionel stood next to her and looked at me, "You have to reknow"

All the rest after that was a complete blankness.

* * *

 **Standard Room, Bohma**

Chris woke up with a start, very impressed with that dream. Looking to the sides to recognize the place where he truly was, followed by a strong headache – also due to the hangover -, he sat up in the bed holding his head and repeated: "Reknow".

He checks the time: 9:18AM

Trying to ignore the hangover symptoms as much he could, he stood up from the bed and headed to the bathroom, thoughtful, confused, and stared his reflection in the mirror.

"Kate…" he whispered tormented by the past events – the dream and the previous night as he saw the marks of her lipstick on his shirt collarbone

Soon after, he finished his personal chores; he returned to the room and heard the cellphone alert. Janet from the Sales Department needed them back in Edonia to continue the job.

Immediately he left the room and headed to Piers and Kate's.

* * *

 **Deluxe Suite**

"How's Kate doing?" Chris asked still at the door

"She's still sleeping profoundly"

"Janet needs us back"

"I know but…Kate has no condition to return right away"

"So you stay with her and when she gets better you return to Edonia"

Piers made a face looking at Chris from head to toe and called him in. Something wasn't right and Chris didn't seem to be in condition to work right away either as he looked airy and the clothes were inside out.

"With all the respect, but you don't seem well to do the job"

"I'm fine. Not the first time I've got a hangover. It won't affect my job"

"I'm sorry but it already did"

Chris let out an annoyed sigh, "If you're saying this because I almost fucked your girlfriend, you're wrong!"

Piers cleared his throat without losing the composure, "No Sir, that's not the reason I said that but your clothes…"

Chris looked down at himself

"With all the respect, you look a mess and the zipper is not where it should be. If you didn't notice that until now, how can you guarantee you won't miss important details about the job?"

Chris made a face. He wasn't in condition to respond to that.

"Ah and another thing, Kate is not my girlfriend, Merah is… and I don't really care who Kate fucks…or you…Sir"

Chris let out a disturbed sigh, "Janet cannot wait more"

"She won't. I'll go and you stay with Kate"

Chris made a vexed face. He wasn't fond of the idea as having to face her after the previous night wouldn't be an easy task.

"Sooner or later you'll have to face each other, so I think it's better you doing it in private than in front of Janet and the other personnel"

"That was a mistake that won't happen again!"

"Mistake or not, it happened…and there will have consequences in your relation. You know people already talk about it and the better you two overcome that, the less people will crap talk about your 'husband-wife' relationship"

Chris gasped, "What? 'husband-wife'?"

"Yeah, you two will look like that when she wakes up"

"Do you have any suggestion as you know her better than me?"

"Yeah, there's also a high possibility she won't remember anything about it because she really exceeded her limits."

"Okay…"

"But if in case she remembers it…be a real man and apologize for…failing…"

"I didn't fail!"

Piers smirked, "Chris…I'm a man too and I know 'fails' happen…"

"But I didn't fail…It was something else…"

"Look, it doesn't matter, for her you did! I listened to her venting before she collapsed…I don't think I need to cite the adjectives she named you…"

"No, you don't…anything else?"

Piers laughed in distress, "Dang…this is so awkward"

"Tell me about it!"

"Yeah, so continuing…fail or no fail, admit it happened. You know how women feel bad when they feel rejected…especially Kate who thinks she's the sex guru"

Chris made a face remaining in silence. He could still feel how good she felt down his south. She could be proud of such a talent.

"Even if she weren't a guru she felt it was unfair not receiving the same treatment, so…"

"Okay, I admit I failed in not retributing at the same level… it wasn't because I didn't want to…but she should understand that when I stopped it was for the best of us!"

"No Chris…don't ever say that! It will only make things worse!"

"It's the truth!"

"She doesn't need the truth. She needs an apology. Simple like that. She doesn't need those explanations…Kate doesn't like details. She doesn't need details!"

"Weird…she seems so detailed for me. She keeps my paperwork and office impeccable, she knows my coffee taste, restaurants preferences and she even kept organized my apartment in the couple of days she stayed there…"

"I didn't say she's not a neat person"

"But you…"

"Look…she thinks you're a limp dick, so it's better apologizing for failing than say you wanted to kill her or something"

Chris made a surprised look.

Piers made an astonished face, "Is that what you wanted to do with her?"

Chris snapped, "No! No way! I'd never want to hurt Kate! Geez! What made you think that?"

"Your face?"

"Geez! No! I made that face because I didn't expect you to say something like that…I was only processing your bad words"

"Oh…"

Chris exhaled, "Anyways…look, I'm not proud of what happened and surely I'll apologize for any inconvenience. I feel very bad for making her feel used because I'm not that kind of man."

"I know you're not"

"And thanks for the tips despite not being so surprising…I had already figured she'd think the worse of me"

"Yeah, but I hope she doesn't remember…you two get so along and I hate staying between husband-and-wife conflict"

"Stop saying that"

"What? It's true"

"No, it's not!"

"But it feels that way…I have seen some couples that used to poke the other and then they ended up marrying and living a good relationship?"

"Not our case"

"Uhum…"

Chris rolled his eyes

"Ah, and another thing"

"Say it"

"I've bought you new clothes. A t-shirt for you and a dress for her"

"What?"

"Yeah…I had anticipated that you wouldn't get up at your best and because of the dirty clothes and no laundry in the hotel, I preferred buying new ones. I hope the sizes fit"

"Alright. Thanks"

"Now, I'm heading to Edonia and you two…behave!"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine"

"I hope so…by the way, I'll close the other room account"

"Sure"

Soon after Piers left, and Chris closed the door, he headed to the bathroom to arrange his clothing. Shirtless, he headed to the room to get the new t-shirt. As he walked, the corner of his left eye spotted the sleeping young brunette on the bed.

"Kate…" he whispered, frowning and shaking his head as he recalled the previous night and their moments of dirty passion

He sat on the chair and waited. Reflective. Distant. Tired. Headache. Concerned. He hated that awkward atmosphere, and Kate wasn't even up. He thought of speeches of apology in the meantime, and also from time to time he recalled the disturbing dream he had, or at least parts of it as he had forgotten a good portion of it since he woke up.

"Re-know…" he said to himself as he watched her sleep

* * *

 _A young girl, wearing a simple green dress, with a long wavy light-brown hair, was washing her hands on the shore of a river when she spotted a young man in simple clothes, short brown hair, in a small boat floating in the water._

 _Politely the young man greeted her. She greeted him back._

 _Both smiled slightly to each other._

 _"Do you accept a fish?" Was the best thing that he came up to have a subject, and pulled the boat closer to shore._

 _The girl giggled, "A fish?"_

 _"Yes, it is a great season for fishing and I have some that I intend to distribute with the population" he said a half-truth_

 _The girl looked at the boat and saw some buckets, "Are you a fisherman?"_

 _"Yes"_

 _"I have never seen you in the area…" she commented_

 _"I travel a lot to explore different locations due to the fishing seasons"_

 _"Oh... so you're not from here..."_

" _Yes and no…"_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _"I'm not really from here, but I live seasonally after those hills"_

 _She smiled again. She tried to disguise it, but the beauty of the man in front of her enchanted her. He was tall, tanned, not thin or fat, and wore a white cotton shirt folded up to his elbows, a vest and dark green trousers. He did not seem to possess richness, but he had a perfect smile that made her shiver, especially when his light brown eyes met hers._

 _"My name is Christian, but you can call me Chris"_

 _"Katherine, but you can call me Kate or Kat ..."_

 _The two smiled, and he bowed slightly and touched her hand to greet her with a kiss on the back._

 _Katherine blushed with the warm, soft touch of the lips of the handsome young man who had some kind of finer education._

 _Walking to the river now had a new meaning…_

(*)

Kate slowly regained the conscious as she felt the bad symptoms of the hangover. Still with her blurred vision, she spotted someone sitting on the chair from across the bed, and after cleaning her eyes a little bit, she spotted Chris apparently taking a nap.

She moved on the bed, trying not to awake him, but the moans of her hangover awoken him.

Immediately she covered herself again as she sat up on the bed corner.

"Hi…" he said with a husky voice

"Hi…" she replied sensing something strange on him

"How are you feeling?"

"Awesome like crap. You?"

He giggled, "More or less the same"

"Where's Piers?"

"He went to Edonia. Janet needed him."

"And he left us behind?"

"We will join them when we get better…"

"I see…" she looked down timidly

Chris followed Piers' advise to watch her reaction first to know if an explanation would be necessary, "Uhm…I need some breakfast to get better from the handover…Uhm… would you like to go with me?"

"Yeah, sure…I'm hungry"

"Okay, so I'll let you alone so you can change…I'll be waiting at the reception lobby"

"Okay"

"Oh, by the way…Piers bought you a new dress because your clothes are dirty…it's over the table"

"Oh, really…okay…new clothes is always good. I can see you got a new t-shirt too."

"Yeah…he had a kind gesture to realize our mess…"

"Yeah, he did…"

"So I'll…I'm going…we catch up later"

"Sure…"

As Chris headed to the door he heard her voice calling him and he looked back to listen to her.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure"

She looked down to herself noticing she was naked, and holding tightly the blanket around her body, "Did we…?"

"Did we what?" his heart rushed in his chest worried about the question and answer

"You know…Did we…did it?"

A complete blankness took over his brain, all the speeches he had rehearsed were completely erased from his memory, and he wasn't sure of what complicated answer he should give.

"Uhm…intercourse? No…" it was evident his tension answering that

"Are you sure or you don't remember too?"

"I'm not sure of how to answer that as…there was no actual intercourse…"

"But?"

"But we kissed… we did kiss…we kissed"

She laughed in distress. She couldn't tell what distressed her more, his tension or to know they kissed. A kiss she had no recall.

"Don't you remember that?"

"I just remember being at the tavern and then some fragments of me raging with Piers…about something…"

"Oh…I see…"

"So it's a fact that we kissed?"

He swallowed hard and recalled Piers words 'she doesn't need details'.

"Chris?"

"Huh?"

She laughed, "I can see you're worse than me"

"It's complicated Kate... I had a weird dream and I don't know what's realty or dream anymore... I'm sorry…"

"Oh, I see…no problem…kiss or no kiss life goes on, right?"

He nodded in agreement, "Yeah…"

"I'm not fired, am I?"

He laughed, "No! Why would I fire you?"

"Because the boss saw the employee wasted… and surely doing stupidity!"

He giggled, "If I don't remember, it didn't happen, right?"

She laughed. She used to say something like that.

"Don't worry about that Kate. I know you're very efficient and the best personal assistant I ever had…so you don't need to worry about the job"

"Okay…I'm glad to hear that"

He nodded in acceptance and left the room. In the corridor, he rested his back on the wall and let out a long sigh. He did remember. Everything. And now he felt worse for not had been capable to admit the whole truth, and hoped she wouldn't remember or ask anything else.

In the other hand, Kate didn't feel secure about Chris's answers and sensed he was hiding something. He was different. She had a curious nature and despite knowing it would be better to let that go, she wouldn't. She knew she'd want to investigate his omission. She knew him long enough to be familiarized with that trait of his.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **I'd like to thank** **clariey2018 and** **FrozenLime** **for favoring and following the story :D**

 **.**

 **.**

 **And so the mystery continues, Chris is a mess (again/as the usual), Kate being Kate...  
Lionel being Lionel, and the dowser being the seer xD LOL**

 **I think it's interesting to see those two mysterious old figures. When I see them and when they tell me their stories, I can see as a viewer how different personalities they have. Lionel seems kinder and lighter, while the female figure a serious one, demanding.**

 **Despite these current chaps being a retrograde story into the storyline, as we know Lionel is already gone, so I think it's interesting what more have been told during Lionel's last week :(**

 **PS: I intended to add more content about them (Lionel and the Dowser) because I had an order of events to tell in this chapter, but due to sudden changes in my life, I had no time to finish it...**

 **Ugh, I hate when that happens! I hope the content won't vanish from my memory either xD and no, I'm not in hangover...okay, maybe a little but of lack of sleep lol**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Back to the chapter content...It's interesting the power of a review! Thanks to my sis Pin Potato's curiosity, I never forgot one comment she made about wondering to see how it was their meet in the other world...I never had the real intention to bring it out because I myself didn't know it xD Buuut, as I'm always improving my own content and extending basic ideas...I guess we could see a little bit of what would've have been such "spiritual encounter"...In resume: Nothing easy xD**

 **However, I can see a "bless" in the veil of 'amnesia' because as we could see on Chris's example, he has a very bad memory of Katarina, and a bittersweet memory of Katherine. And as we have seen in earlier chaps that initially he and Kate had an invisible wall between them, and now that they are more proximate (and now maybe too much xd), that wall is crashing. It could be a good thing, or a bad thing.**

 **Let's hope everything will work out good between them, because... because there are more walls to come xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	50. Mismatch

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Deluxe Suite**

Kate turned towards the bathroom. Eyes glancing past the mirror, she went straight to the toilet and sat down to run a bath. A few minutes later, she had sunk so deeply into the hot bubbles, they covered her face. She wished she could stay there – under water, in the warmth and quiet. Nothing was demanding about the water, nothing harsh about its heat or its intentions. It was soothing.

With painstaking slowness, she sat up and turned on the jets. Washing herself. Finishing, she turned off the jets, pulled the drain plug and stood to stretch her muscles.

Stepping out of the tub, she rolled the towel around her body and headed to the room to finish drying herself and put on her clothes. Standing before a large mirror, she noticed some bruises on her breasts and neck. She took a better close to her nipples that looked darker than the usual, and swollen. The skin around her mouth was dry and peeling – "we kissed" – she remembered his words, and probably her skin looked disgusting from making out with his beard.

"It was more than just a kiss…" she whispered in realization as she looked back her reflection in the mirror. Her fair skin showed the evidence of marked territory and the soreness confirmed it.

"I'm totally fucked!" she murmured as she lathered on moisturizer and put on the new red summer dress Piers had bought her – he definitely knew the style she liked.

She took her cellphone from her purse and texted her best friend, Lucy, before leaving the room: "Sis…I screwed up this time…You're not going to believe what happened…I myself still can't believe it!"

(**)

(…) _One of the classic romances of Bohman literature,_ _ **The Drowned Lovers**_ _is the tale of a young couple, a fisherman named Christian and Katherine a beautiful peasant. The two are, of course, eventually separated and months of pining ensue; the story culminates in a thwarted reunion. Originally a 14th-century legend._

 _(*)_

 _Long, long ago in the province of Arthena there lived on the shore of Bohma in the little fishing village of Artenopolis a young fisherman named Christian. His grandfather had been a miner and his father had been a fisherman before him, and his skill had more than doubly descended to his son, for Christian was the most skillful fisher in all that country side, and could catch more fishes in a day than his comrades could in a week._

 _But in the little fishing village, more than for being a clever fisher of the sea was he known for his kind heart. In his whole life, he had never hurt anything, either great or small, and when a boy, his companions had always laughed at him, for he would never join with them in teasing animals, but always tried to keep them from this cruel sport._

 _In a morning, Christian went out as usual in his boat. The weather was fine and the sea and sky were both blue and soft in the tender haze of the summer morning. Christian got into his boat and dreamily pushed out to sea, throwing his line as he did so. He soon passed the other fishing boats and left them behind him until they were lost to sight in the distance, and his boat drifted further and further out upon the blue waters of a river. Somehow, he knew not why, he felt unusually happy that morning_ (…)

"What the hell am I doing? This is just a folktale…a stupid dream!" Chris murmured in his thoughts as he closed the Google app in his cellphone while he waited for Kate.

The hotel breakfast time had already finished when Katerina joined him at the lobby, they checked out, and so the pair headed to a nearby café.

* * *

 **Burl Café**

Chris was sitting across from Kate in the back corner having their meals in a disturbing silence, eating like robots. There was a wall between them just like when they met.

"It wasn't just a kiss…" Kate thought in between bites and sips always avoiding eye contact with the man before her.

Opposite to the brunette, Chris didn't really avoid eye contact with her, yet they just spoke the necessary such as picking up the meals in the menu.

Apparently, all the progress they had since they started working closely had gone down the drain.

Kate moved her feet, restless. They were in public and she had to compose herself as much she could aside from the hangover side effects. She checked her cellphone to see if her friend's feedback. No reply yet. And that silence from her friend only increased her tension. She liked listening to Lucy's feedbacks and advices, although she knew she'd lecture her about the "I told you so!". Long ago Lucy had already foreseen something would happen between them.

Kate let out a heavy sigh wandering in her thoughts. Despite Lucy's warnings, she never really expected to have any intimacy with the man that 'was not her type' and even less with her boss!

Such an awkward situation. She'd still have to return to his home after the trip for a day or two. She let out another heavy sigh.

"You okay?" Chris asked after hearing her loud sighs

"It was not just a kiss and he lied about that…" she thought ignoring his question

"Kate?" he called her again louder

"It wasn't just a kiss…" Kate shrugged miserably, not meeting Chris' eyes

Kate's quiet statement seemed to echo loudly in Chris' ears as he looked at the pretty brunette sitting across from him.

He opened his lips to say something that hesitated forming sounds in his voice cords, and made him remain mute.

His silence annoyed her. It was already stressing not having memories of what happened the previous night, and his oblivious reaction only pressed her buttons of impatience. Why was he so silent about that?

With a deep, unhappy sigh, Kate wrenched her thoughts back to the present. She finally focused on the dark-haired man sitting opposite her, stirring his coffee absentmindedly as he tried to deal with her statement she had just dropped into his lap.

"So you remember now…" Chris asked, his low voice carefully devoid of emotion

"I saw the marks and bruises in my skin…"

"So you still don't remember…" he said with even less expression

"It's a matter of my concern, why aren't you discussing it with me?"

"There's nothing to discuss" he replied, this time a slight tremor shook his voice

"What?" she gasped, "How isn't there anything to discuss?! Am I just a petty thing for you?"

"Of course not!" he hastened to reassure Kate. While he still found the memories of last night strangely disturbing. Unconsciously, he decided not to think about that right now, but Kate had a divergent opinion.

Chris echoed Kate's earlier sigh. When he had been able to discuss their night of passion at all.

"Was it that bad?" she questioned

He took a quick sip of his coffee, distressed. Tense, "No… it wasn't that bad…"

"So why aren't you discussing it with me?"

"I'm sorry Kate. Don't take it personal." He replied remembering Piers' advice about the apology

"It is personal! You're my boss. We had sex!" she said it louder than she expected

"Kate…" Chris whispered looking to the sides in distress if anyone else had listened to her, "There was no sex…" he bit his lips as he recalled the blowjob she made on him. Okay, technically there was oral sex, which made him regret denying what had happened – the no sex part.

"If there was no sex, why are you treating me like this? I know you're not telling me something which makes me think you took advantage of me"

"No way I took advantage of you! Geez! It's not what you're thinking"

"So tell me! And don't fuck my intelligence by saying there's nothing to tell! My body has the bruises to prove otherwise!"

"I never said 'nothing' happened… I just thought that as you didn't remember what happened, we didn't need to discuss anything and just move on with our lives"

"As if nothing happened…" she said with a slight mock

"Yeah"

"But it did happen and I deserve to know the truth"

"Why? Why such details are so important to you?"

"You still ask?"

He swallowed with a sigh.

She exhaled, "Because I need to understand what the hell is going on between us but there's a wall blocking a mature discussion on a matter that is of our concern. A matter that will make all the difference in our relation from now on because I need this job and I need the extra you're providing for my career but is a fact that we have crossed some professional limits…so I need to know in what ground we are. I don't like hiding the dirt under the carpet"

She had a point. He had the habit to hide or run away from his emotions or feelings. He had difficulties dealing with them. However, he didn't think she needed to know the dark thought he had which made him run away from her for 'her' own protection – or was it for his?

Any ways, he stopped their good time for safety, and she clearly had the wrong idea about the whole thing.

"I'm sorry…it's not what you're thinking and honestly I myself don't know what really happened…" he made a pause, "all I know is that we didn't sleep together but we did cross some limits… however I want you to understand I need some of those limits back because I know you need this job, but as you know I just got out of a serious relationship and I'm still not ready for a new relationship"

"Having a relationship with you never crossed my mind… you're not even my type! And what does it have to do with your silence and different treatment towards me? All I need to know is why did you lie about us?"

"I'm sorry…all I can say is that I'm very sorry, Kate… I didn't want things to go this way and I can assure you I never took advantage of you…we drank and lost control…"

"And we did more than just kiss…" she completed him

He nodded in confirmation, "So please…let's leave things at that…now you know we did more than just kiss and I owed you an apology. It's up to you to accept the apology or not."

Kate was not satisfied, but they had convinced each other that there was no secret attraction between them. Their fault lay in giving in to the romantic atmosphere they had unwittingly created, in letting their mutual fondness for each other sweep away without stopping to think about possible repercussions to their actions. They were human, after all, and they had made a mistake. Unfortunately, it was a mistake that couldn't be just forgotten. They worked together – and lived together.

They sipped listlessly at their by-now cold cappuccino.

"I should find another place when we return home as I wait for Lucy"

Her statement brought Chris' eyes back to her face. She met the hazel orbs unable to read them.

A wobbly smile formed in his lips.

"You don't have to do that. We had a deal that you would stay until Lucy's return. We'll stick to that"

She dashed away the clatter of porcelain on the table, "Okay, so let's get back to work"

"Actually we got the day off…"

"Great…we can't return to the hotel as you checked us out"

"Well…I thought we could visit other places until the time of the next train to Edonia later the day…before the sunset…and actually I need to visit the library that is near the Art Museum…maybe you could enjoy seeing some of the local culture…"

She let out a defeated sigh. Pointless continuing that discussion. The boss-employee had been crossed long before that night. She was tired and sore, but as a grownup, she had to act everything was fine.

Although it was true that loved learning new things and culture, but with a hungover, she doubted she could enjoy it, as she'd prefer. Yet, without any other option, all she had to do was to follow the man.

The National Library and the Art Museum were sided buildings, and while Chris made a brief visit at the library, Kate headed to the Art Museum.

* * *

 **Art Museum**

Going to an Art Museum wouldn't be the type of recreation Kate would jump in deliberately, but knowing how strong the Arts had a strong influence in Bohma, she didn't think it would be a bad idea checking it out.

The place was huge and divided in sections, from paintings to sculptures. National and foreign. She enjoyed the section dedicated to ancient Egypt and Greece. She always had the curiosity to travel to those places someday.

Continuing the walk, she arrived in the national section, noticing a large room dedicated to a unique painter: "Angelique Stafford/Angely Reed"

She had a strange feeling staring the room's entrance, but as the curiosity got the best of her, she decided to walk in.

Several portraits on the walls, ordered by date. Note that it could be seeing the evolution of the painter's technique over the years. From simple drawings to nature and objects paintings, and then to people.

Kate didn't understand of art, but admitted the artist's talent.

As if immersed in a trip to the past, Kate studied the portraits one by one. With no hurry. A strange sensation involved her as she stood before the large portrait of noblewoman wearing a styled 18th century French floral gown, holding a white umbrella, with a long curly dark hair and red lipstick in a scenario that contrasted with the young woman's unique beauty and style. A scenario that exalted her while she being the only colored figure in the middle of the gray and brown scenario of a medieval town – an old-fashioned Photoshop filter.

"Young Katarina O'Gregon" she spoke in a low voice reading the info beneath the board

She let out a sigh as she started feeling her legs heavy while she continued looking the next paintings until she paralyzed before the large wall titled "Reed-O'Gregon House".

The first painting showed a couple in a wedding ceremony leaving a church. The groom's shadowed face expression contrasted with the bride's and guests happy faces.

"Christopher Reed and pregnant Katarina O'Gregon on the wedding day" she read the info and looking back at the painting, she took notice of the bride's belly bump.

She frowned biting her lips as she figured the real motive of the event, "Poor girl…It's evident that guy didn't want to be there but that baby forced their union…maybe that's why she could be so happy as being a single mother has never been well seen…it was probably a happiness of relief…" she spoke as she headed to the next painting

The followed portrait had a considerate jump of years, showed an older and more mature, and beard Christopher Reed wearing a sumptuous red gown. Grand duke Christopher Reed said the beginning of the info before the brief text telling the man's main story events.

Kate remained staring it for some time, admiring the details and the man's distinct beauty. The painter had done a real good job to show every detail of lights, clothes and skin marks on his face. The realism of Angely's technique was beyond words and it could be compared to a modern picture. It seemed there was life and there was a sensation he could move any minute.

"He definitely is my type!" she said laughing a bit at herself

"I finally found you" Chris said joining her

"Hi…" she replied after a light scare

"Having fun with Christopher Reed?" he joked after catching her laughing alone

She laughed, "Yeah…sort of…"

"So he's your type, huh?"

"He is! He seems to be a good guy…"

"I am a good guy too"

She giggled, "But he's accessible. Not you"

"Meaning?"

"He doesn't hide his feelings. Even through those portraits, the painter could catch his real emotions at the moment. He wasn't happy in his wedding day and he demonstrated it. The info about him also says he had a kind heart and was a family man, and in this portrait you can see he's not a grumpy man. He seems more mature but lighter…He's your opposite"

"That portrait was drawn before he learned the truth about Katarina and the bittersweet lie they lived. Christopher died as a grumpy and a dark man. No lightness after losing the love of his life in such a coward way. Unfortunately he loved the wrong woman."

"I haven't reached that part of the story…"

"So I'm already spoiling you his fate. Lionel, my sister Claire and Angelina told me his story"

Unconsciously Kate rolled her eyes at the mention of Angelina's name. That girl always had to be between them somehow.

She looked at the portrait of a sumptuous older version of Katarina wearing a red gown and a crown and jewelry of red gems – probably Rubi. The glamorous pose and the defiant facial expression caught her attention, making her look at the other side of the room and compare the difference with the younger version – Katarina had darkened too.

She read the info beneath the board: "The infamous Grand Duchess Katarina O'Gregon"

She frowned, "Infamous?" she thought. Then she turned to Chris who was staring Christopher's portrait, "So Mr. Spoiler, can you tell me her 'infamous' story?"

Chris looked at the famous painting and huffled as he remembered of his dream, "Katarina was a selfish – bitch- seductress and a murderer. She played with all the men's hearts that fell in love with her. She was a plague. Being known as infamous is the least she deserves. I hope she burns in hell forever if there exists."

"Geez…why so much hate! It seems you're taking it personal!"

"I only answered your question about her being infamous"

"You just told me a resume and not the whole story. Here says she loved Christopher obsessively and they had 6 children"

"5. One was another man's" he replied and pointed at the wedding portrait, "That day Christopher was forced to marry her based on the pregnancy that wasn't his. She lied to him since the very beginning, not to mention she killed the love of his life and an innocent unborn child. That wasn't love. Christopher was only her biggest prize and toy. You noticed he used to be a light man, but Katarina and her poison made sure to destroy him and if there was a chance of Christopher ever reincarnating, I doubt he'd ever be the light man again because Katarina made sure to break him in tiny pieces that is nearly impossible he getting light again!"

"Hey! Don't spill your poison at me, I have nothing to do with that! I was just saying it…" she replied putting her hands over her chest as she started feeling a pressure in it

"Sorry…It's just I can't stand Katarina and all she represents"

"Geez! If you Christopher and Katarina ever reincarnated I wish they'd never meet again if he feels the same as you, damn!"

"If I were Christopher, I'd never forgive her and I'd make sure to make her life a hell if we ever met!"

"So I hope you never meet!" Kate said crossing her arms and walking away to the next painting

"Kate…don't take it personal…It's not about you…" he said following her

"Reknow…"

He stopped for a while after hearing someone whisperer and looked to the sides searching for it.

Katerina looked back and took notice of his strange behavior, "You okay?"

"Yeah…"

She turned her back to him and stood before the Reed-O'Gregon clan portrait: "Christopher, infamous Katarina, Madeline 'Maddy', Adelina 'Lilly', Philip 'Phil', and baby Beau on Christopher's lap"

A sudden wave of sadness passed through her as she studied all the details, and a feeling of fondness formed in her chest, and also an emptiness, "Katarina had 6 children, two are missing in this portrait…such a fertile woman…" she thought with sadness comparing herself and her miserable condition.

Chris stepped closer to her to observe the same painting. A strange feeling hit him, although he couldn't name or describe it – nostalgia- perhaps.

"I don't know how women could have so many children…" Kate commented

"Giving birth is a capacity I admire about women…"

"Unfortunately not all women have that capacity…and it's sad that some that can do it end up doing atrocities with their children…This is so unfair…" she said looking down

"Yeah, I agree, but there's the reversed scenario too…"

"I know…I'm just saying it in general…While there are women that could be good mothers and dreaming of the children then can't have, there are those bad women that can conceive but end up throwing newborns in the trash, rivers…killing children…this is unfair!"

"Yeah…"

A silence arose between them, and together they observed the solo portraits of all Christopher and Katarina's children in order of birth.

Kate struggled with her affected emotional. Children was a very delicate matter to her mostly due to her womb's and ovaries condition. Since the start of her cycle when she was 12, she always suffered with painful periods that didn't diminish with the administration of painkillers. Long and irregular cycles and heavy bleeding led her to acquire a constant state of anemia. As the years passed, the cramps worsened leading her to end up in hospitals and fainting.

After going to several specialists, and having several diagnosis and failed treatments only two doctors had being capable of giving some reasonable explanations and the right diagnosis: polycystic ovaries, septate and bicornuate uterus and only one fallopian tube.

She who always dreamed of a large family was devastated with the infertility, and now facing all those family paintings and the woman she had a strange affinity, a woman so fertile, reminded her of her misfortune.

"They had beautiful children" she commented breaking the ice

"Yeah, they did"

"Despite our personal opinions about the outcome of their story, do you really think there was no love at all between them to make all those children?"

He gasped, "You don't need love to make children…"

She rolled her eyes holding the urge to curse him idiot, "Chris…I know love-love don't make children, I'm not that stupid!"

He giggled at her way of speaking.

"I only meant that…" she stopped speaking as she noticed the other children that were part of the 6 pack and immediately rushed to read their bio.

"I know what you meant Kate, I was only joking" he said following her

He stopped at her side, noticing her seemly fascinated expression seeing the portrait – and last Reed-O'Gregon made by Angely – of the twins: "Melissa 'Mel' and Henry on the laps of their parents".

Christopher held Henry and Katarina held Melissa. Both looked very happy with their children.

Tears formed in Kate's eyes. She was in the edge of her emotional control. She wished there was a portrait of the couple and their 6 children together.

If only she knew… that day was the last one Katarina and Christopher were happy together as a couple. As a family. As a whole.

Kate noticed Christopher and Katarina holding hands while holding their twins, "That's what I'm talking about…The little details reveal the special things…They weren't perfect, they were human and made mistakes. Maybe one more than the other…but that doesn't annul there was love…once upon a time…" she said squeezing her hands while fighting her tears

Chris swallowed listening to her. For him, Kate was a romantic girl who could still see love everywhere. She was not just a party-girl, or a bubble, nor a "beautiful and sexy steak"; she was more than that. She was sensitive. She was a hard worker. She was human. She was cool…

"I never said they never loved…I just meant that they could've had loved forever if it wasn't for Katarina's mistakes. She ruined their love story. She destroyed all they had built. All they had together. She destroyed families!"

"Was it only her fault?"

"She's the one who lied. She's the one who stabbed innocent people and killed them! She's the one who ruined it all"

"So she did it without a reason…was she just a crazy ambitious woman? No one never gave her motives to do what she did?"

"In my opinion? Yes! She was a crazy bitch! Nothing justifies killing innocent people! A pregnant woman!"

"I see…"

"I can see you're teamlionel. He also tried making us see Katarina's side, her victim side! She's no victim! And honestly… why are we discussing this again?"

"I'm not discussing anything…you're the one altered…" she shrugged

He huffled. Another uncomfortable silence between those two.

Maybe it was the hangover. Maybe it was whole situation between them in the morning after intimacy. Maybe it was the particular affinity with a fertile person while she was the opposite. Maybe it was her sensitive emotional. Maybe it was everything altogether. Kate moved to the extra paintings of the twins made by Maddy O'Reed showing them as older children. A strong pain formed in her chest and an abrupt wave of sadness took over her. Not being able to disguise it anymore, she surrendered to the tears.

The dark hole was back in her chest. She felt so alone. That was enough history for her.

Chris – as the usual didn't know how to react to the crying woman next to him – wasn't sure of what to do. Things were balanced between them. She no longer was just his coworker – and a hardworking girl. She no longer was just someone he helped in what he could. She no longer was just someone he almost fucked – and his friend's ex. She was a combination of all that – and more. She was becoming more than that. More than anything he ever imagined.

They still didn't have a classification.

But one thing was true… They were more than just friends.

Leaving aside the divergences, Chris made a bold move – listened to the part of him that was fond of her – and walked out of the museum holding her in support.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked as they arrived at a small plaza

"Yeah…thanks for asking"

"No problem"

"Chris…can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Can we pay a visit to Mr. Lionel before we leave home?"

"Yeah. What about we do it now?"

"Sounds a great idea!"

"We can go by walking…"

"Yeah, but before that I need to remake my makeup…I don't want to scare people with my panda looks"

He giggled, "You look fine. It's not that messed" he said passing his fingers delicately at the end of her eyes wiping the tears

She swallowed in distress. Her chest still hurt. Her legs still felt heavy. After checking her looks in the small mirror in her purse, they walked side by side to the Lake Land. Still recovering, Kate held his left arm for support to walk as the pain progressively went away and the torment wave dissipated used one another for support for whatever bad feeling they had.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**


	51. The Guardian of Love

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: This is a two-part chapter**

* * *

 **Edonia, Angelina's Home**

It was a little after the sunrise when Angelina woke up after a disturbing dream. A dream she was aware she was sleeping, but her conscience still participated of the events.

She woke up with a song playing in her head, and also the memory of an image she had to draw and paint. She knew she had to paint that and she was sure to follow that intuition.

She rushed to do her usual chores, and as her daughter Olivia was still sleeping, she took the time to work on the work.

* * *

 **Bohma, Lake Land**

Chris and Katerina entered the main gate and were accompanied by Lionel's assistant until the house.

"What a pleasant surprise! It's funny that I had a dream with the visits of friends last night, dreams really come true huh!" Lionel said smiling from comfort of his armchair as he saw the couple entering the house and coming to greet him

Kate smiled and replied after they sat on the couch next to him, "I guess they do!"

"What's the reason of sudden visit? I thought I'd never see you again in this life" he asked

"We got the day off and we made a short tour in town and thought of paying another visit to you" Chris replied

"I see, and where's Piers, didn't he get the day off either?"

"No, he had to work."

"Oh I see…Did you go to the festival?"

"Yes we did. It was fun" Chris replied

"Yeah, it was a good way to leave the routine, despite I don't remember much…" Kate replied

Lionel laughed, noticing something different in the couple's body language, "Party and alcohol have that effect, I presume…"

Chris unconsciously looked to the side after the comment, feeling slightly embarrassed

"My real reason for the visit is different" Kate said

"Oh, really? Did something happen?" Lionel asked looking at her

Kate briefly looked at Chris who looked briefly at her as well disguising the panic in his demeanor as he got worried Kate would open her mouth about their intimacy and immediately his mind starting working on an explanation (excuse), and then she turned to Lionel again, "Yeah…" she replied

"What happened?"

"Straight to the point? Chris and I visited the Art Museum and I was fascinated with the local art, the artists' talent and how strong the art is here…"

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that"

"Yeah, it was a good visit…"

"But?" he asked with anticipation

"But something happened in the Art Museum and… and I didn't like some repetitive descriptions on some paintings and that intrigued me…"

"What descriptions?"

"Katarina's"

Lionel raised his eyebrows with full interest in what she had to say about it.

"With exception of one or two portraits of her when young, all the others had a bad adjective about her persona and that gave me a bad impression…"

"About her?" he asked

"No…about how she's remembered. I may not know her full story, but from the small bios about them I could see she was an important figure for this country and Mr. Spoiler here told me the bad side of hers… but I still couldn't comprehend how this is allowed until the present time…especially you who know so much about the whole story…"

"What is exactly your complaint?"

"The word 'infamous'"

"She deserved that adjective…it's even soft after all she did" Chris smirked

"Hitler did more evil than her and he's not described like that! Some even refer to him with admiration!" she replied to him slightly annoyed

"I agree, and if you ask me how I'd describe him, I'd mention many bad adjectives about him too"

"So why isn't in your reports the 'infamous Albert Wesker'? He did bad things to you too, right?"

"What?" he gasped

"With all the respect…There's contradiction in your speech Chris…"

"I won't discuss that with you Katerina, especially here!"

"Hey guys, no fighting. No need to argue about such a petty detail"

"It bothers me the delight he has in bad talk her…"

"I know it does. I could see that, but arguing like husband-and-wife won't solve it"

"We're not husband and wife!" Chris gasped

"I know, but you look like it right now"

Chris stood up bothered, "With all the respect, I'll wait outside while you tag along about Katarina, this boat doesn't belong to me. now excuse me" he said and passed the door

Kate and Lionel exchanged gazes. She had a mix of feelings between embarrassment and annoyance, "I apologize for the ridiculous scene, Mr. Lionel. He's known for being a temperamental guy sometimes…" she said apologetic

He giggled, "Don't worry Kat. I understand, I totally understand!"

"I didn't come to make a scene… I just wanted to understand why you allow such a pejorative description about her when you seem to be the guardian of their history?"

He smiled, "The guardian of their history…first time hearing that and it makes me feel honored and embarrassed as I see you have a good reason for your complaint"

"I am no one to ask you anything but…"

"But you're right. It's not good to read or learn of someone that way…it gives a bad impression"

"It does… that word stands out before all the legacy she have and it makes people never forget the good things she did…"

"I agree"

 **Flashback**

Old Katarina was sitting on her bed reading a newspaper when Lionel entered the barn carrying a tray with fruits for her.

"Keeping yourself updated?" he asked

"Unfortunately yes"

"Unfortunately?"

She nodded in confirmation

"Why? Any bad news?"

"My youngest son is the king and people wonder for how long I will live more…they say only the good die young…they forgot everything I stood up for, everything I fought for…once I said I would leave my mark in the sands of time, and I actually did…a bad legacy. Once I said they would never forget my name…a bad name.  
I have lived long enough to witness my own ruination. I was intelligent, but a high intelligence is nothing if you are a crappy person. Some people have intelligence and only that. nothing else… I am one of those…"

"I often argue with Henry because that. He helps spreading your bad name. You're his mother, he should come listen to your side."

"Do not that anymore. It is a waste of energy. Christopher marked my name forever and elevated Angelique's, that is his legacy. People pity. Pity them and their fairytale love… they do not know how many times he made me feel like trash. How he abused my emotional, my feelings. How many times he cheated on me and I still loved him with my all and always said the best things about him because I always admired him! My love for him blinded me… but even when someone gives you reason, you cannot talk trash about the ones you love because one day they will be gone and you will only miss them with their good and their bad…So leave things at that. It is true I exploded and exceeded in my reactions. I did kill two innocent people – a child included – so let my children think whatever they want of me. I deserve it. No one will believe my sadness, my version, my side…Let history be what it is. It is my responsibility"

"Every coin has two sides…"

"Do not struggle for me Lio. Soon I will leave this world and join Christopher, Angelique and the others in the other side. I will apologize personally to them. That is what matters to me now and not what the living will think of me when I am gone, but I appreciate your efforts to defend me"

"I grew up listening to all versions of the history, but I needed mine own. You're not that bad as you think, as they think I've seen people do worse than you and they're still acclaimed…Granny, everyone makes mistakes! You're not perfect. No one is perfect! Even less those who judge you"

"Lionel, my dear great-grandson Lio… when someone has lost everything, nothing else matters. All I wanted I have lost because of my own stupidity. All I want now is to leave this world, but that black pill has been my penitence. I should have died the day Christopher died too, just like in the Drowned Lovers tale…my favorite one! I have not lived since then but only survived…I cannot take it anymore… I do not want only dream about him, but I want to be with him even if he still hates me…I believe one day his anger will pass…it always does! I have seen it many times…Why this time will be different? I cannot help loving his anger too, no matter how much I whine about it"

.

.

 _I'll do as you wish…_

 **End of Flashback**

"It's been a long time ago. People should get over it!" Kate said rolling her eyes

"Yeah, it's been a long time"

"And in my opinion, I don't think she was that evil, I may be a fool for not knowing further details, but I strongly believe my intuitions and it tells me she wasn't that bad as they say…"

"She wasn't that bad…she just loved too much"

Kate made a thoughtful face, "As for I have heard…Christopher is said to have loved Angelique immensely…"

"And he did"

"I don't question that, my point is…Do you think if it wasn't for Angelique, Christopher could have loved Katarina and all that tragedy avoided?"

"My honest opinion?"

"Of course! I don't take less than that"

He giggled, "I like that about you. You're too sincere…even with a stranger"

"That's indeed huh! But being honest again…I see you as the grandpa I never had…I feel so comfortable as if I know you my whole life. Does it make sense?"

"It does to me" he smiled

She smiled back. – If only she knew…-

"Now my honest opinion? Christopher did love Katarina as much he did love Angelique. Nobody hates something or someone who they don't care. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. You may notice that the heavier feelings you experience are directed to very close people whom you love or would like to love. Love may be suffocated in the midst of rancor, sorrow, vengeful thirst. But love still exists. It remains dormant waiting for the most propitious occasion to develop fully, overcoming obstacles to healing past wounds. It may seem strange, but perhaps hatred is necessary for the full knowledge of love, for the real appreciation of love. If we did not feel the torture of hunger, we would certainly neglect our care in supplying our bodies with the energy necessary to carry out the activities that life requires. Hate is nothing but a desperate hunger for love."

She remained reflective. She could see the logic of it. the weird sense, "So Chris needs to learn how to love Katarina so he can start loosen up about her as he himself has no reason to hate on her like that as she didn't do anything directly to him…"

Lionel smiled impressed, "Exactly! Katarina didn't do anything directly to Christopher Redfield. He can't hate on her just because of history"

"Yeah, but that bad adjective before her name incites people to do that, it already warns that she wasn't a good thing. First impressions cause more impact than getting to know someone"

"That's true. I totally agree with you"

"So why do you still allow it?"

Lionel smiled warmly, "Do you want me to remove it?"

"Sure if you can do that, though I'm no one to request anything like that to you…"

"You're more than you think Kate. I consider you one of my best friends, and even someone of my own family!"

She smiled not knowing what to say, "I'm flattered to hear that Lio…may I call you like that?"

"Absolutely! It's been a long time I haven't been called warmly like that…"

They smiled and stayed in silence for a while.

Kate looked at the paintings on the walls, especially Katarina's. It was inevitable her connection to that woman. A strange admiration.

"She was flashy, wasn't she?" he asked noticing her behavior

"She was…and it's sad that everyone gave their backs to her… she had so many children and descendants… I can't imagine how lonely she felt and how she managed to live so long all alone… Just her and her memories…it is sadder that no one really sees that the one who most lost was herself! No punishment is harder than that"

Lionel let out a sigh, "I can't imagine either and that makes her a strong woman. You have to be strong to face your own shadow, your deepest fears so raw… it's something I admire about her… When I read her diaries, I learned her biggest fear was to be alone and she hated staying alone anywhere. When she was young, she had her parents and sister. Then she had friends and her closest friends, Christopher and Pierce. The passion of youth caused some complications in her life but she beat it. Then she had her own family and her closest confident Lucy when Christopher wasn't around or the children… But she didn't realize her biggest insecurity and deep soul wound were leading her to her biggest fear- the loneliness. She had to abdicate of her children and Christopher who obviously she had lost in that fatidic day she killed pregnant Angelique. She killed a mother and a child and left orphan children and a ruined families, so it was just she losing her own somehow with the indifference of most of them…but still she wasn't totally alone as she had Lucy… When Lucy died, she realized she couldn't stop the inevitable fate so she embraced Christopher's hate and also Pierce's in hope it would pass because Christopher and Pierce did have their temperamental personalities so she waited for the redemption that never came. She did have the eventual visits of some children but never the twins…the twins that were the fruits of their true love and her deepest regret of abandon. Her hope for forgiveness was stronger than her solitude. Until the day she had the compassion and the only family member to ever visit her among all the descendants, the great-grandson that had the blood of all of them…he abdicated of many things in his life, including the crown, to take care of her. To be there for her. Only one among several…"

Tears formed in their eyes.

Kate the most emotional of the pair, taken by a strong wave of feelings, stood up from the couch and sat on the armchair arm, and hugged Lionel who hugged warmly hugged back. He could feel her loneliness – it still existed. He so hoped things would be different this time.

"The guardian angel" she spoke in sobs

"Yeah…a guardian…" he whispered caressing her back, while he used his energy to absorb part of the miasma in her aura. His third vision revealed to him the seal in the chakra of her reproductive organs, so he focused mentally his vision and energy on there while he still caressed her in support. It was when he saw two small lights next the door.

With his third vision still activated, Lionel could see through the house walls and saw Chris near the lake staring the barn from afar, and the mysterious female silhouette near the barn staring him without him taking notice.

"The guardian of their history…" Kate said smile as she sit up, as she felt calmer

Lionel smiled proudly, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Absolutely! I admit I was feeling sad and confused when we got here"

"I noticed"

"You're a smart man Lio! I like that about you…I wish we had met before"

"Me too!"

"But I guess it's what they say: better late than never"

"That's true and about your request, I will gladly make that true. I think it's fair granting you that before I die"

"My last wish" she said jokingly

"Yeah! I promise you that"

"Now I'd better check on Chris"

"Mr. Spoiler"

She laughed loud, "Yeah…"

"Before we go…I sense there's something still going on and that you wish for a resolution. May I help you with something?"

She stood up making a face, "Mr. Lionel…you and your hawk eye!"

He laughed, "I'm just an old man…I know some tricks of life…"

"Or maybe I don't know how to disguise things…"

"Yeah, that could be true… So, how can I help you?"

She inhaled deeply and sat on the couch again, and looked out the window. She saw Chris standing facing the barn.

"Have you ever hear that when one person bugs a lot with the other is because they like and don't know? Sometimes we find people very similar to us, so it causes a strangeness that is actually affinity and we understand it as a revolt."

Kate turned to face him, feeling embarrassed. Lionel noticed it.

"For your consenting silence I can see that last night's party changed the dynamics between you"

Kate gasped, "Not the party. The alcohol…"

He laughed, "Oh those young people…There are things that not even time changes!"

"He's my boss Mr. Lionel! This shouldn't had happened…whatever happened because…I don't remember it"

"Kate, the alcohol doesn't change people, it reveals them…whatever happened is just a result of dormant things. It was always there, I had noticed it yesterday even before the booze"

She let out a heavy sigh, "People think we're a couple and that he broke up with his ex-girlfriend because of me…none of that is true…he's not even my type!"

Lionel laughed loud, "No?"

"No! Or at least he didn't used to be…when we met…"

"How did you meet?"

"I firstly met Piers in a restaurant last year and there was an immediate attraction, and I saw the logo of the BSAA on his jacket and as I was looking for a job…things ended up leading me to apply for a vacancy in the BSAA! Irony of the destiny!"

Lionel giggled. No irony at all. It was just fate.

"So I got the job as a receptionist and soon I met Piers again and he had a girlfriend who was super jealous of me, but there was nothing between us…and during that time is when I saw Chris at distance most of the time and soon I learned he was Piers' superior and I always had the impression Chris was a weird guy and that he was not my type because I remember listening to some female coworkers crushing him. initially we only greeted politely and I had more contact with Piers whenever we could. I respected his relationship because I will confess it to you because they don't know…but I was in a relationship too"

Lionel raised his eyebrow and not having a good feeling about it, but kept it to himself.

"But before you think the worst of me…it was a complicated one. I don't actually consider it a relationship…"

"I'm no one to judge Kate"

She laughed distressed, "So continuing… so in resume Piers broke up with the girlfriend as we couldn't control our attraction anymore…but despite us having a good chemistry, things didn't go as I expected and I felt a wall between us, so we didn't actually date, we just…you know…"

"Yeah, I know…I got it"

"So it was during this period with Piers that I had more contact with Chris as they're always together and it was weird because I had a completely different impression about him. he was not the type of man I'd fall or crush. He also had a girlfriend and that one seemed to be my karma"

"Your karma? Why?"

Kate inhaled deeply, "Because we couldn't stand each other for no reason. I admit that…but then she gave me reasons because she always stared me with a bad eye, and when she was with Chris she used to keep marking her territory on him when I was there…so that bugged me because she kept teasing and I don't have much patience with that, so I felt like poking her somehow…but I kept the composure as much I could. I needed the job…but then Chris' longtime secretary got pregnant and she had to leave for maternity, so it opened a vacancy for that and all the other receptionists applied to it too, and I was a little back off to do that, but Piers told me to give it a try because it would give me some temporary extra and because of my complicated situation with my family and my ex-boyfriend, I applied"

"And you were the chosen one…"

"Yeah! But I know Piers interceded for me in a subtle way so Chris could give his final choice because I heard the Human Resources had only presented him the candidates but he would choose and not them"

"I see, so why is Chris' girlfriend your karmic encounter?"

"Because of our delicate situation already, I wasn't sure if I should apply for the vacancy, but when I got it I was afraid the worse could happen as I was already reaching my limit of patience with her teasing, but at the same time I thought it was weird being the chosen one because Chris was already aware we didn't match…and just in the first day I realized that he hadn't told her either he had selected me"

"So you became his little secret huh!"

"Yeah, I felt that way! Which only increased the rumors late on, especially after the fight I had with his stupid fiancée the day I lost my temper with her"

"Did you beat her or something?"

"No, but she beat me! It was a huge commotion and the hot talk for a long time…but I was tired of taking in in silence, you know…so I called her loser and then she jumped on me"

"Cat fight"

"Yeah…but then I regretted it because I could be fired! In the end I didn't lose the job, but he lost the fiancée and I felt very bad for it…"

"You did?"

"I did! Not enough to tell him I called her loser which made her explode, but…I did feel bad seeing him saddened because I know he doesn't really have a life and is known for being an workaholic, so I witnessed him happier for having a life outside work…so it hurt me seeing him becoming the grumpy Chris again, and now that we spend 24hrs a day together since he was the only one who helped now I'm homeless, I learned to see another side of him yet a lonely one"

"So from the guy that wasn't your type he has become someone you care too much…and slept last night…"

"He said we didn't sleep… and since this morning we argue and reconcile at the same time for different reasons…like a husband-and-wife like you said… but I know something happened and he doesn't tell me…" she shrugged

"Does he has to? Isn't it obvious?"

"What is obvious that I can't see?"

He smiled taking her grip, "Denied feelings have emerged in him, and you will need to be patient while he works on it. Don't push him. Wait his time"

"I get worried because I don't have money, nowhere to live. My only friend travels a lot and I know I can't stay in her place for a long time because of that as she still lives with her parents. I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm communicative but I don't have real friends besides those three: Piers, Lucy and Chris… So I'm worried he will kick me out"

"He won't my darling. Chris is not that type of man. He will stick to his promise"

"yeah, but our deal was of two weeks, and I'm spending these weeks in this trip…I don't have anywhere else to go when we get back home and I can't afford a rent…I'll have to live in shelters until I can solve my life"

"How much do you need until you find a place for you?"

She widened her eyes, "Don't see me as a beggar…"

"I don't…"

"Mr. Lionel, I…you don't… I can't let you do this…"

"I want to! I love helping people. You need. I can. So period. How much do you need?"

* * *

 **Outside**

Chris took the time alone to refresh his mind. The lake had that effect on him. In the library, he had read a little about the Drowned Lovers, and he couldn't believe he was still thinking about that thing. Amidst of that, he kept looking at the end of the lake recalling his dream, and a strong curiosity invaded him. Was there a real grave there? He wondered. According to the books, possibly.

In between chatting in his phone and think about the recent events, he looked back to face the barn, and it intrigued him to see its open doors. He kept observing it from afar. Nothing really that outstanding besides being an old barn and it was visible an apparent bed at the bottom of it.

He had the curiosity to enter in it, but obviously, he wouldn't. So he kept on studying it from afar.

Sometime later, he noticed Lionel and Kate leaving the house and coming to his way. It was evident the difficulty Mr. Lionel had to walk.

"Enjoying the lake as always, Chris?" Lionel said

"Yeah…you're fortunate to live in this paradise"

"Yeah, it feels like heaven" he commented and then looked at the open doors of the barn, "Did you open it?" he asked Chris

"No…it was already open when I got here"

"Ah, maybe my assistant forgot it open. I asked him to clean a few things yesterday"

"Do you want me to close it for you?" Chris asked

"Actually I need you to check something in there for me"

"Sure. What exactly?"

"The bed. I had left an object there and I don't know if my assistant retrieved it"

"Alright"

Without wasting any time, Chris entered the barn. Strangely, he felt like entering the Spence Mansion as he felt a cold in his spine and felt like there were hidden things there – haunted place.

There was no light inside, but the daylight illuminated it through the upper level windows and the open doors.

He did notice a necklace on the bed, and not seeing anything else of interest, he grabbed it. However, in the moment he touched it and saw the green gem, he immediately remembered his dream and the same necklace he had seen Katarina wearing.

He felt a sensation of dizziness, but he was capable of controlling it. When he turned to leave the barn, he felt another dizziness as he had the sight of the lake and a Déjà vu sensation hit him.

"Are you okay?" Lionel asked in concern

"Yeah…I found this" Chris said delivering him the necklace

"Thank you Chris. That's exactly what I was looking for"

"Wow, this is so beautiful!" Kate commented with delight

"Yes it is" Lionel replied and looked at Chris, "Could you please put it on her?"

Chris made a face but didn't decline, "Sure"

"What? Why?" Kate made a puzzled face

"It's yours now my dear"

"What? No! I can't accept that Mr. Lionel"

"And I won't wear that my dear. It's a female necklace"

"You can give it to a daughter or granddaughter…"

"I want to give it to you"

Chris waited the two discuss the necklace possession, and studied it. The Déjà vu feeling just didn't go away. That gem hypnotized him.

"Put it on her Chris, please" Lionel said bringing him back to reality

Kate lifted her hair, still embarrassed, but at the same time she liked the new very special gift.

"This was made for you, darling. It suited you well!" Lionel commented, "Don't you agree Chris?"

Chris looked at Kate and the necklace. Kate was blushing and avoiding eye contact with him, but she did look at him briefly. When the hazel eyes met the greenish ones, a strange feeling hit him making him smile, "It's perfect on you. Your eyes match the emerald of it"

Kate swallowed in distress, blushing like a red tomato, "Thank you…"

Chris cleared his throat, "Do you want me to close the doors?" he asked turning to Lionel

"Yes, please."

While Chris headed to the barn, Lionel turned to look at Kate who couldn't lay off her eyes from the necklace. A very special necklace – especially made to Katarina O'Gregon by no one else than Christopher Reed himself.

A gift that Katarina mistakenly gave as a payment when she ordered Angelique's assassination. She didn't give it as a payment on her own, but the necklace happened to be kept among the other jewelry she would give as a payment. She didn't check the small bag when Lucy delivered it to her, a negligence that served as proof in her involvement in the deadly alliance, but also a negligence that disrupted Christopher's heart forever not only due to her involvement but for the sentimental meaning that necklace had for him.

 **Flashback**

Christopher Reed had recently moved to the Lake Manor with his children after setting a deal with George about that property.

One day, he was cutting the grass while the twins were playing together near the lakeshore when he noticed a shining object on the ground.

He knelt to grab it, and a strong pain cored through his body when his eyes recognized the necklace he had made to give to Katarina as a birthday gift when they were still teenagers.

Inside Flashback

"I know you have everything money can buy, but…"

"What I really want no money can buy!"

He smiled, "This is for you…I hope you like it…" he said delivering a simple small wooden box

She opened it and a large smile formed on her face. A smile from ear to ear as the bubbly young brunette jumped in happiness and hugged the young boy before her, "I loved it!" she said lifting her hair, "Put it on me"

"Did you really like it?"

"I loved it. It is the best gift I ever got!"

He smiled flattered, "I made it"

She turned to look at him in surprise, "Did you?"

"Yes I did!"

"Ahh, now I understand why you were making mystery a while ago and talking to that goldsmith! Sassy boy!"

He laughed, "I suck at gifts…so when I found that gem I had that idea as I knew your birthday was the next on the list of friends…"

"You found it or you took it…borrowed?" she said disguising the real meaning

He laughed understanding her sense, "I found it! In my parent's Arthena land…I found a small abandoned manor there and I found it in a secret passage in the fireplace"

"Oh, really? That is awesome. The Reed's secrets huh!"

"Yes, but please, don't tell it anyone"

"I will not! I swear!"

 **End of Inside Flashback**

Katarina did fulfill her promise. She never told or commented with anyone – not even with her sister or Lucy – about the secrets of the Reed's land of Arthena.

However, that promise had lost all the value when he saw the gift as a payment for someone's assassination, especially Angelique's assassination.

Devastated with the monster Katarina had become, Christopher Reed's disappointment took all the few appreciation he had for Katarina, turning resentment into hate.

"Daddy, daddy…you're not looking!" said the three-year-old Melissa wanting to show him her hair with a pink lily flower between her ear and curly hair

"I'm sorry my dear…you look pretty!" he said with teary eyes as he looked at the small version of Katarina before him

"Daddy you're crying…"

"I'm fine darling"

"Don't cry daddy…I'm here with you" the sweet little girl said embracing him

Soon after her twin brother joined the hug and wiped his father's tears.

"We're here with you daddy…we're here…" said the little boy with a sweet but serious expression – just like his father's.

The only thing he didn't and couldn't hate about Katarina was the children she had given him.

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **Thank you guys for reading and favorites. :D**


	52. The Guardian of Fate

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Part two**

* * *

Kate couldn't lay off her eyes from the new gift. Chris couldn't stop thinking about couple's supposed grave. Lionel gave a slight nod to the female figure near the barn. A figure only his special eyes could see. Reason why it passed unnoticed by Chris and Kate.

They were returning to the house when Chris finally decided to ask about the famous tale.

"Mr. Lionel, may I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"I heard about a famous local folktale known as the Drowned Lovers. Have you heard about it?"

"Absolutely! It has passed by the generations, but I have to correct you that it's not a folktale, it's a true story"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Of course, there are other versions that really have more a content of folktale or legend, but the base is true…it's the story of Christian Greencamp and Katherine Guéron"

"What?" Kate paralyzed listening to those names

"It's the love story of Christian and Katherine, a young couple who lived in the 14th century" Lionel replied

"It can't be…" she said

"Why not?"

She looked at the men staring her with curiosity and she felt taken aback with Chris' stare as she remembered the fortune teller's words, "Because when I was a kid…I used to dream about a couple with those names…" she said half of the truth as she feared Chris's reaction, but hardly she knew Chris had dreamt about them too

Lionel didn't look surprised, "Well…there are people who have access to the past through dreams"

"I had the same dream too…"

Kate looked at him attentively

"It keeps repeating since the exhibition last year, and because of the repetition that has intrigued, I wondered that perhaps there's a message I'm not understanding… and that's why I came to talk to you for some insight as I dreamed again last night…"

"I see…"

"If Kate and I had the same dream, what does it mean?"

Lionel had to think fast to give a convincing explanation to both of them who awaited a logic explanation, especially Chris. Not so much Kate as he knew she had already talked to his female partner.

"Honestly? I can't give you an answer because you two have different beliefs and what makes sense to me may not make sense at all to you"

"I came to listen to your opinion" Chris replied

"You're too rational for my opinion. Incredulous."

Chris let out a sigh, "Meaning I'm one of them?" he asked with a skeptical tone

Lionel caught it, "What if I told you that. Would you be satisfied with the answer you came to look for?"

"Hard to believe but the answer I really came to learn is something else…depending on the answer I can make my own opinion about what to believe"

"What's the answer you're looking for?"

"Is there a grave that belongs to them in the end of the property?" Chris asked straight to the point

Lionel didn't hesitate giving him the real answer, "There is…in addition, earlier this morning I was cleaning it and sending prayers to them, to their restless souls"

Kate hesitantly asked, "Why do you think their souls are restless?"

"Separation from the ones we love is already a tough moment to deal, but it's even harder to be at peace when you're separated abruptly from the one you most loved…there enters a cycle of broken promises, unfulfilled dreams…"

"I thought people went to heaven or hell when they died" Chris commented with incredulity

"Heaven and hell are a state of mind, not a place…in my opinion"

Chris made a skeptical face. It was pointless discussing that. As Lionel had already said, they have different beliefs.

Kate remained in silence. She felt saddened listening to Chris' opinion. He was the opposite of her in that matter, and after believing the fortune teller's opinion, she felt kind of hurt that if it was true Chris was her fisher Christian, she saw the distance between them and after the last night's events she could say there was no chance between them. They seemed to have entered the cycle Lionel had just mentioned – and restlessness.

"Can I see it?"

"Sure"

Kate was hesitant to follow them. Her heart was already broken as she recalled the dreams, but as it was inevitable for her to stay behind in that creepy place, she decided to follow them.

The grave was slightly different from his dream, but Chris finally had the confirmation he looked for.

"Would you like to pray for them?" Lionel asked

"Sure…" Kate replied

Chris didn't protest and remained in silence contemplative staring the grave and the pink lilies pot near it. Why did he have those dreams? What was the message he couldn't understand? Did Lionel's belief make sense? He didn't know what to think of it all.

"I really wish they find peace and that their true love stands out among the adversities they have been through." Lionel said

"Why do you say that? You speak as if they don't love anymore just because they died in an accident?" Chris questioned

"It's beyond that…it's about something you really don't want to listen…unfortunately"

"You can tell me their story so I can understand…" Chris replied

"It's beyond that story, it's beyond time…you won't understand"

"Lionel, I'm not that skeptical as you think. My work is to fight creatures only believed to be true in movies. If it was me before July 24th of 1998 you could be totally sure I wouldn't buy your…with all the respect, bullshit… but that's not the case now as I have witnessed the bioterrorism developing new ways to infect people in ways I can't name now and with the help of the technology. My job forces me to keep my mind open, so please just tell me… What do you know?" Chris questioned with a serious expression

Lionel nodded in agreement, "Forgive my old brain. Sometimes I forget to live the present times, but as you know, I've dedicated most of my life dealing with the past, so it became a habit keeping looking back."

Chris gave a single giggle with Lionel's way to ease tense moments, "No problem. I understand"

Lionel looked at the lake and the couple next to him couldn't see it, but mentally it was as if he could transfer his current mind to the exact moment of the past and that fatidic night.

"Christian and Katherine were the typical young couple who had an overwhelming love from the moment they met. A pure and innocent love that unfortunately was doomed to a sad end as it aroused envy and jealousy of nearer relatives who were against the relation. They lived in the 14th century, and during their escape to fight for their love, they died drowned in the river flooding. Their bodies were found by an old couple that came often to this land to fish and they buried them in the same position they were found, and that's what immortalized their story." Lionel commented

"Why?" Chris asked

"Because miraculously, Katherine never let go of Christian's arm even after their deaths and not even the water current was capable of separating them, and they were buried in the same position…with Katherine attached to his left arm. It's believed that Christian died first and Katherine unable to live without him, chose to go with him and never let go of him so they could stay together in the afterlife in a way to fulfill their promise of eternity"

Kate and Chris looked at each other as if in synch. Kate recalled the dream of a man named Christian. Chris recalled the dream of the drowned couple and their grave. And Kate noticed she was at Chris' left side – an unconscious habit she had, now that she thought better about it, which made her remember of the fortune teller's words of him being her fisher.

Unexpectedly, Kate started feeling dizzy and without warning she fainted. Chris had a quick reflex and managed to hold her.

"Let's take her to the house" he said carrying her

* * *

 _On a cool summer morning, Christian waited for Katherine at the shore of the lake as he always did, and then paddled to another more private spot where they could enjoy their privacy and make eternal love vows._

 _The beautiful peasant made him feel something he had never felt before, and made him feel the happiest man in the world. He loved her youthful spirit. He loved listening to her singing and performing. He loved watching her dance while he sang and played the guitar, or when she spun and danced around the fire when they went on picnics and grilled fresh fish. The couple made plans to marry, but feared their families' disapproval, and so they kept meeting in secret for some time._

 _As usual, he spotted her from a distance and waited to greet her with a kiss before helping her into the boat and navigating the lake course._

 _But that day was special, and he was waiting for her holding a ship of flowers he'd picked-red, rosy, and white roses-her favorites and delivered to her. It was the one-year anniversary since they met._

 _That day the route was a little different and for being a very special day, he took her to the small cottage that he lived, and that became his current residence to be closer to his beloved._

 _"Hmmm, that good smell of food, who is cooking?" she commented as soon as they arrived at the door_

 _"Nobody is cooking. I cooked it before I went to pick you up"_

 _She was surprised to see the whole house so clean which was a contrast to the kind of messy times they stayed alone there in a few occasions- "The house is tidy, you've cooked and you're treating me like a queen. What is going on?"_

 _"Today is a very special day, don't you remember?"_

 _She made an effort and made a distressed expression as she remembered the date._

 _"Today is our first anniversary since we met"_

 _"Yes, I realized now... and I cannot believe how I could forget! I did not bring anything to give present you..." she said covering her face embarrassed for having forgotten that detail  
He smiled, taking her in his arms, "You are my gift, the best of all!" And kissed her passionately_

 _Ah how that day was really special! They had fun, talked and made so many plans for a future together - and they loved each other like they had never done before. A natural love of a young couple in love, living full happiness._

 _"I can feel your heart. It's as fast as mine..." she commented as she lay on his chest, and caressed him gently, with a broad smile on her face._

 _"I've never done this before..." he confessed as he stroked the young woman's arm in his arms as they rested from the first moment of love - and the only one they would have._

 _She lifted her face to look at him, "Is it true?"_

 _"Yes, I have no reason to lie about it"_

 _She smiled and kissed him softly, "We are discovering the love together..."_

 _He smiled back and stroked her face, staring into the pale-brown, almost honey-like eyes of her that glittered in ecstasy, as did his, "And we will continue to discover it… this was only the first time of many we will still have. And then we will marry, have children and we will be a happy family!"_

 _"Yes, that's what I want, my love!"_

 _"And it shall be so… I will love you all my life!"_

 _"Our love is eternal!"_

 _"Eternal..." he replied before sealing the vows of eternal love with a kiss full of sublime love_

 _(**)_

 _"Why did you tell them?!" Katherine questioned her sister_

 _"I'm not a liar like you! Our parents deserved the truth, they asked me and I answered them!"_

 _"It's your fault they separated me from him!"_

 _"Our families would never accept such a union!"_

 _"Why not? We're not that different!"_

 _"Wake up Katherine, you barely know how to sew! You can barely clean the house, or even cook! You have no qualifications for a good wife besides a pretty face"_

 _"Christian loves me the way I am! And nothing stops me from learning these skills"_

 _The sister shrugged, "True... but at least one skill you've proven to have... to spread your legs!"_

 _Katherine exploded and slapped her sister's face for insulting her, "Shut up! Do not talk as if I'm a vulgar!"_

 _"But you're a vulgar! You gave it before the wedding!"_

 _"We made love and we're getting married! There is nothing wrong with that!"_

 _"Good luck Kate... Daddy's already left to talk to his parents, because this marriage is never going to happen!"_

 _"You are jealous! You have no competence to find a man to love you, to be good and handsome and in love with you like my boyfriend!"_

 _Angeline smirked, "You have no class. The slap that gave me proves how low-grade you are... you do not deserve a man like Christian and I will never forget the slap you gave me!"_

 _"I don't recognize you Angeline... I trusted you and you betrayed me... like this..."_

 _The pale-skinned young woman, light-brown eyes and smooth dark brown hair remained silent._

 _At that moment Katherine had a moment of realization and figured the malicious intent behind her sister's actions, "You're in love with him... you want my Chris for you!"_

 _Angeline laughed wickedly, "Think whatever you want Katherine... Think whatever you want..." and left the room  
_

 _That night, Katherine received the sentence of her life, her parents and siblings upset her. Her father and mother beat her like they had never beaten before and kicked her out of the house. Without a pillow, or a blanket and no comfort, Katherine slept in the stable with the horses. She gathered_ _sawdust and improvised a bed to sleep on_ _. She cried all night, and talked to the horses, especially with the one that seemed to comprehend her lamentations._

 _After the traumatic event, Katherine reflected and coldly planned her escape.  
She contacted a friend, Peter, and asked him to deliver a letter to Christian, and while she waited for an answer, she pretended to have accepted the separation from her great love and acted the way they expected her to…submissive. She kept all her secrets and plans to herself, and one day while she was in the stable, she was visited by a friend Lucelia (Lucy) who was also Peter's girlfriend and Christian's cousin._

 _"Kat, I managed to talk to him"_

 _"Did he get my letter?"_

 _"Yes, and he said he'll be waiting for you at the Hope Bridge. Do you know where it is?"_

 _"Yes, I know, it's on the border with the neighboring country"_

 _"Yes, that's where you're going to get away. I have a friend who will be waiting for you in the other side to house you there... I hope everything works out for you."_

 _"Thank you Lucy, everything will be all right! It must to! It's our only chance to stay together..."_

.  
It did not work. Katherine and Christian lost their lives during the escape.  
It was a cloudy night and a sudden rain overflowed the river that covered the bridge. Christian and Katherine were taken by a wave and in the current they drowned.

* * *

 **Lake House**

"She's awakening" Chris said while watching Kate lying on the couch

Lionel observed her – them.

"Kate" Chris called her with a concerned tone

"Chris…what happened?"

"You fainted"

"What?" she frowned confused

"Are you feeling better?" Lionel asked

"Yeah…"

"Do you want to go to the hospital? I'll go with you" Chris said

"No…no hospital. I'm alright…I only suddenly felt dizzy but..." she paused, "I'm fine…it must be the hungover" she tried to ease the situation

Chris and Lionel exchanged gazes not believing that excuse, but they wouldn't force her to do something she didn't want if she really proved she was alright.

"What time is it?" she asked

"4:30PM" Lionel asked

"Oh no… We'd better hurry…we still have the last daylight train to catch" she said sitting up

"The last train is only at 7. You should rest a little more" Lionel said

"No crossing bridges at night"

"She's scared of water and bridges…especially at night" Chris commented

"It's also because I don't know how to swim and I always imagine something bad will happen like the bridge break, or some animal might take me such as alligator or a shark… I know it's a silly fear, but…I can't help it" she explained

"Did you ever consider a treatment for it? Or learning how to swim?" Lionel asked

"Yeah…I did try to learn how to swim when I was a kid but one day I almost died drowned at the beach…"

"Really?" Chris said

"Yeah"

"How did it happen?" he asked

"I was 8 or 9 years-old when one day I went on a trip with some relatives and friends when because of my stupid curiosity I ended up walking too much ahead of the shore because I was curious to know when the sand bank would end because it was really extent that day, and the sea was really far…so as I walked with the water still under my knees when suddenly I didn't the ground anymore and I tried to swim back but I just couldn't because the water was dragging me. so I was with the water in my neck level and as I tried to float, I looked at the shore and nobody really cared or noticed I was getting tired and couldn't feel the ground anymore… I remember very well my last thought when I was seeing the people at the shore and I thought that was my end and I wanted to cry because my mother wouldn't see me return from the trip and so I apologized for that, mentally… so it was when a big wave dragged really further into the sea and then I turned my face to look back and there was a second larger wave that hit me on the head and I was pushed back, eating sand and all back to the shore… I had sand everywhere into my bikini, I had some scratches and my eyes got so red because I opened it. I was trembling, scared and never again I tried to enter any water I can't feel the ground"

"Well, this is really scary. I understand your trauma. You got a real reason to fear it" Chris commented

"Yeah…"

Lionel made a face. It wasn't just the real event of this current life. Mentally he made the relation of her fear and the death of Katherine. A traumatic moment her soul hadn't still surpassed as Katarina didn't know how to swim either and shared the same fear as Kate's, but different of her, Katarina never considered trying to learn how to swim.

"If you want you can spend the night here in the guestroom. There's a hospital nearby and if you don't feel alright again, we can take you there instead of risking to run to catch a train and then fall sick again during the trip" Lionel suggested

"I agree with Mr. Lionel. I can see you still don't feel that good"

"But we have to work tomorrow"

"No work for you until you're fully recovered" Chris replied

"But…"

"Your safety first. Work can wait, right?" Lionel commented

"Yeah"

"But I can't stay here alone…"

"You won't stay alone. I'll stay with you if Lionel gives permission…"

"Of course you can stay as long as you want"

Chris exchanged gazes with Kate. Once again, their plan to return to Edonia had been postponed. Chris called Piers to inform him about the sudden change in plans. There was something about Bohma that seemed to root them there.

"I'll call my assistant to prepare the room for you"

"Are we staying in the same bedroom?" Kate asked

Lionel gave a shrug, "You'll be in observation and for that someone needs to keep an eye on you"

"But…"

"Is there a problem for you Chris?" he asked

"No at all. My only request is for a sleeping bag? Could you ask your assistant to get that?" he replied

"Sure!"

Kate was still reluctant. Probably that wasn't a good idea to stay the night there. She wasn't feeling sick, but she still felt very sleepy.

"I'm sorry my manners but I'm so happy to have such a special guests in my final days! Now excuse me, I'll talk to my assistant to provide a special dinner and your sleeping bag"

Chris and Kate exchanged gazes again and giggled at Lionel's way of speak.

"Are you sure we have to do this?" Kate questioned after Lionel left the house

"We can't take that back anymore"

"I know…but…it's embarrassing…"

"Yeah, I'm not that comfortable either, but I prevented your fall, so now I'm really concerned about your wellbeing"

"I know and I appreciate your concern…but it's not that what I was really referring…"

"And what were you referring?"

She bit her lips reluctant, and swallowed, "Spending the night with you…again"

Maybe he shouldn't had asked that. Or maybe he just wanted to listen to it loud.  
strangely – or not – he didn't mind spending the night with her. He liked her company – deep inside he always did.

* * *

Later at night, Chris and Kate were already sleeping. She on the bed, he in the sleeping bag. The assistant in his room.

Lionel was in his desk writing on some papers – ratifying his new will.

He looked outside the window and saw a haze forming. He stood up from his chair and walked outside.

"How are things at your end?" asked the mysterious woman who spent the day near the barn

"Everything is fine. Better than I expected"

"I could see that. You manage to make them stay"

"Not without your help"

"I did what I had to do, considering you'll be leaving very soon"

"I wish I could stay longer, but I remember one day you told me to not interfere too much in their choices and not suffer for their failure"

"Do you think they'll fail this time?"

"I hope not…but I did notice they have evolved a little since the last time. Angelique's influence as Christopher's sister did contribute immensely to dissipate part of his obscurity when he left the 18th"

"Certainly…but he's still not ready to forgive and accomplish what they requested before they reincarnated"

"From what I've seen I have hope they will make it"

"Let's see how they will behave when you're gone"

"Yeah…just don't be too harsh on them… Kate is really working hard to make things right this time"

"She has a dream. She needs to work hard to achieve that"

"I know, I saw her Sacral Chakra"

"And I can assume you used your energy there" she exclaimed

"Yes I did, I saw her merit for it"

"But it's still too soon to say that, from what I've seen she doesn't have much sympathies with Angelina, which is still a serious mistake from her part. From their part is more correctly to say"

"I noticed that too, but…we already knew the probabilities of accomplishments and failures they could have. I'm aware they might not be a huge success, but I want to believe they won't waste this opportunity like they did before"

"We'll see…"

Lionel smiled softly, "I'll now hand the torch to you, my dear. It's your turn to rotate the wheel"

She gave a single nod, "And certainly I will!"

"Ah and just one more thing"

"Say it"

"I had a bad feeling about Kate's former boyfriend…"

"Douglas - the Duke"

"Is that him?"

"Yes. They have met and she still struggles to leave his domain…"

"So more than never she will need Chris…"

She nodded in agreement, "Katarina and the Duke's fate is not over yet. I'm keeping eye on him already. His toxic possession threatens to bring their negative karma very soon."

"Chris needs to remember…" Lionel said in concern

"He doesn't need to remember, he needs to follow his heart, the inner voice"

"His rationality is an obstacle for that"

"So more than never Kate needs to show how much she has changed…"

"It's payback time…"

"It is time for me to move the wheel of their lives…" she said before disappearing with the haze

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **Thank you** **DaRooster2000 for the follow :D  
**

 **So...in this chapter we could see better how their past influences their present. We saw how their experiences changed them in each life. The sweet Katherine turned the imposing Katarina and now the emotional Kate. While the free-spirited Christian became the passionate Christopher and now Chris 'the rock'. And poisonous Angeline who became the submissive Angelique and now the adventurous Angelina.**

 **What more the future awaits for them?**

 **Stay tuned!**


	53. Open

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _All you leave!" the Duke yelled at the handmaidens and then took hold of both the door handles and pushed it open with as violently as he had before. He stepped inside the woman's bedchamber, too angry to bother about common courtesy. His eyes instantly darted over to the sole figure in the room that seemed to have slightly startled at his sudden appearance._

 _Katarina let out a bored sigh and rolled her eyes at the Duke, just the sight of the man was enough to ignite her repulsiveness. If it wasn't for her public punishment and the agreement her father and the repulsive man had, she would have never tolerated to be in the same place as him. She tried to ignore his presence and got to admiring herself in the mirror. She put on a golden necklace, which had her family's heirloom, as the Duke closed the distance between them._

 _"We need to talk", the man tried to civil and control his anger._

 _The brown haired woman looked at the duke through the mirror, "I am busy", was the only thing she said, grabbing her perfume and spraying it on herself._

 _"This can't wait", the duke told her, curling his fingers into a fists._

 _"Do I look like I care", Katarina spoke in a carefree tone moving away from him, towards her bed, "Now get out of my chamber. I need to rest", she spoke with an evident tone of contempt._

 _"I am not going anywhere", the Duke raised his voice at her and she shot an angry look at him as well, "Are you spraying perfume to meet him behind my back?"_

 _She gasped, "What?"_

 _"That scumbag… Your lover… I need to know if you're having an affair with Pierce Northman."_

 _"That is just another stupid rumor!", the woman response with weight on her voice and shook her head._

 _"You're my fiancée!", the man said stepping really close to her, "I cannot tolerate more of these stupid rumors! Are you sleeping with him?", he questioned._

 _Katarina could stop herself from shooting him a disgusted look, "Get out of my chamber!", was the only thing she said to him, before making an attempt to move away from the man, who was extremely repulsive._

 _The Duke grabbed hold of her arm, "Answer me!", he demanded stopping her from moving._

 _"Leave me!", she screamed angrily, revolted to having been touched by him._

 _"I am not leaving without an answer!", he pressed on knowing the answer._

 _"So what if I did?", Katarina spoke acidly, finally able to jerk her arm off his grip._

 _"What does he have that I don't?", the noble man asked feeling dejected._

 _"Everything!", she replied coldly pushing him away, "Now get the hell out, before I call the guards of the palace!"_

 _The Duke was left standing there feeling both humiliated and rejected, while Katarina stood near the bed without an expression on her face. She gave him another disgusted glance and tried to shoo him away like he was some beggar on the street or even worse, a trash a dog had eaten. He spared her a glance, before dragging his feet all the way back to the door, and she told him to close the door on his way out._

 _He grabbed both the handles of the door, knowing completely well that there was only one way to get what he wanted and it would be by taking it forcefully. He shut the doors and locked it from inside, determined to get what he deserved and to make Pierce feel powerless when he heard the news about him and Katarina and to feel the taste he could do nothing against a Duke as he himself was a close friend of the King's._

 _Katarina watched the Duke locking the door from inside, and she couldn't help but ask him what he was trying to do out of confusion, as he backtracked back to her bed. She could see a fire raging in his eyes, as undid the buttons of his coat. Before she could understand anything, he was grabbing hold of her shoulders, pushing her down on the mattress with an immense force and climbed on top of her._

 _"What the hell do you think you are doing?", Katarina asked not keeping the annoyance off her tone, as the duke kept her pinned down with his weight._

 _"Getting what I want", the duke said leaning in closer to her face._

 _"Get off of me!", she tried to push him away and hit him to let her go but he didn't ceased._

 _The Duke didn't listen to her and took hold both in one of his hands while his other hand ran wild, feeling the soft curves of her body. Katarina screamed and struggled, trying to get herself lose but felt somewhat helpless against the man, who was twice her size._

 _Just as the man leaned in to capture her lips, she managed to release one of her hands from his grip. She instinctively slapped the duke, putting all her strength in that one slap that the sound of it echoed in the room. The duke sat up straight and she thought that he would give up now but the next moment he grinded his jaws and pulled out his belt._

 _He tried to grab both of her arms and tied her up, but Katarina knew if she let that happen then she wouldn't be able to save herself. She reached out to whatever she could grab off her bedside table and threw it on to her attacker. He moved to dodge that projectile and she got the chance to push him off herself._

 _Katarina hurriedly crawled off the bed and made a run to save herself. She hurriedly unlocked the door and rushed out the room, calling for help. She looked over her shoulder whilst running to see the Duke following her and she knew he could catch up to her anytime. She tried to run to the entrance hall of the palace, where she thought there were guards and servants that could help her. But just as she reached the top of the stairs, the duke got hold of her._

 _The brunette struggled, shouting out for help and trying herself to release but this time his grip was even tighter. She hit him, pushed him back and pulled away from him, as if they were playing tug or war. She didn't realize when they both lost their footing and fell from the top of the stairs. She reflexively screamed out of pain, as they both rolled down the stairs together, finally crashing at the bottom of the stairs._

 _Katarina pulled herself from the Duke and looked down at his limp form, while his blood formed a pool around his head._

 _Her expression in complete shock as she looked up to see Pierce coming to her way with a perplexed expression_

 _"Kat?"_

 _"It was an accident!" she whispered_

* * *

"Help! Somebody help!"

Chris woke up with Kate's screams and immediately rushed to her aid after turning on the lights.

"Kate!" he called her while she still kept her eyes closed

"Let go of me!" she yelled trying to push him as she still kept her eyes closed in despair

"Kate!" he called her louder

She sobbed still locked in the nightmare, "It was an accident…" she spoke with a French-like accent

"Kate, wake up!" he said shaking her a bit

"It was…" she finally opened her eyes sobbing

"It was just a nightmare, Kate" he said comfortingly

She hid her face on the pillow, and cried harder. With his hand on her shoulder, he could feel her trembling body. Soon after he heard knocks on the door.

"Is everything all right here?" asked the assistant with concern

"Yes. She only had a nightmare and got scared"

"I'll get a glass of water for her"

Kate was too affected by the dream. It was as if she could feel all the sensations so vividly. The man's touch. The girl's despair. She couldn't forget the image of the man's dead body and his open eyes staring her.

She just couldn't recollect.

Chris, touched by her broken emotional state, laid by her side to give her a secure sensation. To comfort her. She hid her face on his chest like a scared little girl. He embraced her to assure her everything would be fine. That he wouldn't leave her side.

They fell asleep in each other's arms.

Mr. Lionel watched them looking through the wall with his special ability. Using the few energy left for him. he knew his final day was coming, and the image of Chris comforting Kate gave him more hope that this time the end wouldn't be so tragic, which caused him a relief. Unfortunately, he wouldn't witness that but perhaps he was never meant to witness it.

Looking through the window, he stared the lake and the small lights floating around. Then he saw two shining points heading to the house. He watched it to see where they would go. As they passed the living room, two specific portraits moved on the wall as they headed to Chris and Kate's bedroom. One light stayed at Chris's side and the other at Kate's side.

Lionel smiled recognizing their energies.

He looked at the barn and saw his partner still standing next to it. It was their mission to make amends with those souls.

And slowly the ground for their return was being prepared.

There was an inevitable fate.

* * *

 **Edonia, Early Morning, Angelina's House**

"My love, are you on the obsessive mode again?" asked George as he noticed the sun still rising and his girlfriend in the studio – painting.

She giggled, "I need to finish these paintings. It's a two part work."

"You have worked on it almost nonstop. Liv needs your attention too"

"I know, and that's why I'm working on it so I can finish it fast and get my routine back"

George stared the painting. He could see the backs of a couple holding hands. They faces slightly turned to stare each other, "Who are they?" he asked

"I don't know. I only saw them in a recent dream and I can't stop thinking about it"

"And where is the other part?" he asked

"It's in the other canvas. There's only the drawing"

George stepped closer and saw the same couple frontal version. The same pose, still holding hands and staring each other. The details was their arms. Each carried something.

Before he could ask what they were carrying, they heard their daughter crying. They exchanged gazes and knowing how focused Angelina was in her work, he went to check the little redhead girl as he had that day off.

* * *

 **Bohma, Lake House**

In the morning, Kate still wrapped in Chris' arms, woke up with the sounds of the birds outside their bedroom window and a weird and sudden feeling of love washed over her as she remembered the events of the night before and that she had awoken from time to time, his arms had been firmly wrapped around her and she had happily remained there, "This really could be the guy I'm with forever. Dare I even think…no, no! What the hell are you thinking Kate!" she shook her head and rolled over

It's then that she realized it's over.

He was awake. He was tense.

"Good morning" he said, his words catching in his throat  
Translation: "We crossed the line again and I need to get the fuck out of here"

"Good morning…" she replied avoiding eye contact with the realization she had slept with her boss – and not literally speaking. They did sleep together – only slept.

There was a disturbing silence between them.

"We should get going…" she said sweetly  
translation: "Please don't make me feel horrible about what I did last night"

"Yeah. There's work to be done" he replied sitting up

The awkwardness that had crept between them.

"Ah…thank you and I'm sorry…" she said breaking the ice, and finally noticed the sucking mark on his neck

"No problem… are you better now?" he asked standing up

"Yeah…thanks to you…"

"No problem…"

They left the bedroom and met Mr. Lionel's assistant who told them the old man was still sleeping but they could have breakfast if they wanted.

"Thank you for the hospitality and thank Lionel for us"

"You're welcome and I'll tell him your message. Have a safe trip"

The couple left the land and headed to the train station. They talked only the necessary as both were back to their shells of professionalism despite each had enjoyed the sensation of sleeping together.

Secretly Chris liked having Kate in his arms. He liked her scent and the feeling of providing her security. And how perfectly her body fit against his. However, the new day had come, and they had to get back to their routine. It was good leaving Bohma and its strange magical atmosphere that made him feel things his mind constantly disapproved in his usual routine.

Kate closed her eyes in distress when the train passed the Bridge of Hope.

Chris watched her. His mind told him to remain still. But his heart made his hand hold her grip.

Kate opened her eyes feeling his warm touch. She couldn't tell what frightened her more, the bridge or his sudden touch.

"Relax, nothing will happen. I'm here with you" he said with a comforting tone as the awkwardness atmosphere was eased

Her eyes got teary, but she didn't allow the tears to fall. It was a simple gesture and words, but so comforting.

She knew he was a respectful touchy man. He had that rock around him, but he still had kindness and respectful manners when he wanted. A rarity he didn't show to any.

"You know…I was thinking of teaching you how to swim when we go back home" he commented

"What? Why?"

"Don't you think it's important to overcome your fear?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to do this…"

"Why not? It's my job teaching recruits many techniques…training them…"

"Ah, so I should face it as a training…working training?"

"Well, if that serves you to say yes…so yeah…it's your mission to learn how to swim"

"Will you fire me if I decline?"

He laughed, "That's a petty reason to fire anyone, but… I thought you had said you wanted to progress professionally… you know you can make a career in the BSAA, all you have to do is the internal courses apply for the vacancies, but to progress you have to be more complete than the others, be more skilled…"

"And swimming is a skill I don't have, the fear gets me limited, so my chances to progress get diminished…"

"Yeah"

"And you're the guy that wants me to progress…"

"Yeah. You have that trait. All you need is an opportunity"

"And you're giving me that…by teaching me how to swim…"

"Yeah, and it's for free!"

She laughed, "You know I prefer the self-defense course"

"I can teach you that too"

"Is it me or are you turning me into your recruit?"

He laughed, "I didn't think that way, but…if you see that way, so I guess I can take harder on you as I know you have the profile"

"I'll think about it" she replied

He didn't let go of her hand as they crossed the bridge. Actually, he didn't let go of her hand until they arrived at their final destination.

 **Edonia**

She felt the coldness on her skin as he released her hand when they arrived at the station in Edonia. Their hotel was nearby, so they walked until there.

Chris headed to the room he shared with Piers and Kate to the room she shared with Janet. Both rooms in the same floor.

Later at night, Kate was lying in her bed posting some pictures of their trip to Bohma in her social networks. Pictures of the town. Pictures of her with Piers and Chris during the festival. She smiled when she searched the gallery and found a selfie of her and Chris. She didn't remember what made them take that picture together, but she liked it. It has become one of her favorites – if not the favorite. She never thought how photogenic that serious captain could be.

She received a message from Lucy – finally.

"I'm sorry for the late reply, but I was super busy these days because of the promotion. So I just read your message about screwing up. What happened?"

Kate knew her friend was still online, and after the storm had passed, she wasn't sure if she wanted to discuss that with her friend and listen to her 'I told you so'. Lucy was a good friend and the true type. Her sincerity sometimes bothered her, but she knew Lucy always had the best of intentions with her advices and lectures. Lucy seemed to know her better than anyone – and probably better than herself.

"Never mind…it's past now. I already solved it"

"I see, and when will you return?"

"Hopefully the day after tomorrow"

"Oh…I see"

"Will you be home to shelter me?"

"I won't. My parents aren't home and I'm in a training trip that will last two more weeks"

"Great!"

"I'm sorry, but I thought you would stay in Chris' apartment for two weeks. Wasn't it the deal?"

"Yeah, but those two weeks we have spent here in this trip!"

"Can't you talk to him to reconsider it?"

Kate bit her lips. She feared it somehow. For the way things were going between them, she wondered if they would cross the line again, and maybe go further. Probably that happened only because of Bohma's weird atmosphere.  
She also remembered Lionel had given her some money, but the idea of staying in shelter wasn't so pleasing. She was in a crossroads.

"I don't know… but I guess I don't have any other option, right?"

"Well, you have another option…"

"Go back to Douglas? No way!"

"No...the other option..."

"That is totally out of question! I sleep with Chris again but I'll never sleep with Douglas ever again!"

"What? Are you sleeping with your boss?"

Kate groaned loud as she sit up on the bed, a loud groan that got Janet's attention. The brunette apologized for disturbing the roommate's sleep, "No!"

"So why did you say again?"

Kate exhaled heavily. The subject she wanted to avoid was brought to the table for her own fault, "It's because we slept together last night, but only slept of sleep, and not slept of sex…at least the sex wasn't last night…"

"What? Did you have sex with Chris?"

"No!"

"You just said it! Is that the subject of the screw up message?"

Kate scratched her head in distress, "Yes…" she replied with a rolling eye emoji as she rolled her eyes as well

"Tell me more! I need details!"

"No details…I don't remember it"

"What?"

"I was drunk…we were drunk… and so something happened"

"How do you know that happened…and with him?"

"Because I still have the marks on my skin…and he admitted it. Initially he only admitted we had only kissed, but then I questioned him and he said it was more than just a kiss…and for me more than just a kiss is sex"

"Or make out…"

"I doubt I'd stop only in the make out!"

"True that" her friend replied with laughing emoji

"And today I saw the sucking mark on his neck too…a habit I usually have…"

"And he said no sex but more than a kiss? Something is not fitting the puzzle"

"I agree, but I have decided to stop thinking about it"

"And then last night you slept together? Do you remember why?"

"Yeah. We were sharing the same bedroom in a friend's house and I had a nightmare, so he got worried and came to comfort me"

"I see…so he cares about you"

"Yeah he does…and he even wants to teach me things to progress at work"

"I see…so you're dating your 'not your type' boss? I just knew it would happen!"

"I'm not dating my boss!"

"But now he's your type!"

Kate bit her lips and exhaled in defeat, "He's not that bad when taking a closer look…"

"Yeah, very close you got! Too bad you don't remember how good and big he is…as it's important to you right?"

Kate could sense the sarcasm in her friend's words, "It's not as important as knowing how to use it!"

"He's a juicer, right? They say it affects it…"

"I don't know if he's a juicer. I know he trains a lot at the gym or at work… I haven't seen him taking anything…"

"Well, juicer or not juicer maybe he failed…"

Kate made a face. His failure could be an explanation for his awkwardness and all that silence about it. Failing at that moment was surely embarrassing.

"Maybe you're right. It makes sense despite the rumor I had heard about him…"

"Rumors are just rumors"

* * *

It was already late at night. Chris was sleepless and checked his phone. He replied the messages of Claire, Barry and Jill's. He was about to close the chatting app when he saw Angelina's icon online. They started chatting.

"Are you still in Bohma?"

"No. I'm back to Edonia"

"How long will you stay in town?"

"I'm leaving the day after tomorrow"

"Oh…too bad"

"Why?"

"Because I was wondering if we could see again before you leave, but currently I'm working on a very important project that is taking all my time that even my comprehensive boyfriend is not liking my dedication"

"What project?"

"It's a double painting"

"Cool! I'm sure it will be a fantastic work!"

"Thank you. Would you like to see it?"

"What? A spoiler?"

"Yeah, I don't mind showing it to you"

"Sure"

"Wait a minute. I'll take some pictures and send you"

Chris patiently waited. He didn't mind about the late hours. He simply loved spending his time with Angelina, even if it was through online chat. Talking to her was easy, very easy. Despite all the hobbies they had in common such as enjoying camping, travelling and other things, he felt comfortable with her. She didn't judge him and didn't mind listening to his work talking, actually he liked her excitement listening to his missions tales. She always showed interest in whatever he had to tell. She was a curious person. They knew for a little time, but it felt like they knew for ages. He kept it to himself, and despite not knowing her so called boyfriend and father of her daughter, Chris felt like that man encaged her lovely birdy spirit – and she rarely mentioned him in their conversations.

Since they met in the previous year, he felt attracted for her. And when he learned about her boyfriend was a cold water thrown at him. Then both were committed to other people, but now he was free. Unfortunately she wasn't.

At times he could be mistaken, but sometimes he had the impression their attraction was mutual from her side too.

It would be so easy dating her, opening up to her. Loving her.

Angelina was easy to deal.

While with Katerina things were always complicated when not work related.

It was inevitable for him to compare those two women whom had a strong effect on him.

Angelina amused him. Katerina intrigued him.

Maybe it was the strange aura of Bohma and Edonia's. Maybe it was his solitude hitting him.

He focused at work as much he could…but at times his mind made him wonder how it would be like getting involved with one of them – and both of them not exactly at the same time!

For now, he didn't have to choose who would be the first as Angelina was taken.

And Katerina…

It was complicated!

* * *

 **Somewhere**

A blonde-brown eyed man, looks in his late 20's was sitting on his desk, in his office at Fleury Lab. He took a break from working in his report and entered his social network. He scrolled the posts in his timeline until a particular one caught his attention.

He raised his eyebrows with interest. He clicked all the pictures. There were no captions. However, captions weren't needed, especially in the last one.

"So is this the guy that whore is banging now? I wonder what my father will say when he sees that!"

He downloaded the picture in his cellphone with a mischievous expression.

Dennis Fleury was his name.

.

.

 _Aka Fleming_

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **I can't believe I got to write this chapter in 5hrs! I thought there was not having updates until the next week, but the spirit of inspiration came to me and I got this done!**

 **My current routine has changed significantly so I'm not having as much time (and pc with internet) to write. I have to divide myself with so many things and education that I barely have time to breathe! lol**

 **But I won't stop writing! :D**

 **Stay tuned!**


	54. Tell Me Not To Love

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

Back to Edonia and to work, Chris headed to a meeting while Kate stayed in the office checking the documents as Chris had ordered.

She was in his desk when she heard knocks on the open door. Looking up she saw Piers asking permission to get in.

She giggled, "You don't need permission to get in"

"I do…it's still the boss's office"

"But you are…his left arm…as I'm the right arm"

She laughed, "What do you want?"

He sat on the chair before the desk and looked straight at her, "I just wanted to check on you…Chris didn't get into many details but he got so worried about you and even made you his priority, so I'd like to know what happened. How you're feeling now…"

She rested her back on the chair and crossed her arms a little bit. Despite being in more friendly terms with Piers, it was still disturbing staying alone with him and open up with him.

She giggled, "I appreciate your concern but it was nothing serious. Chris and Mr. Lionel overreacted about my condition but it was all due to the hangover"

"Nothing serious? He said you had panic attack"

"Hangover"

"And that you fainted"

"I was hungry! You know I'm not me when I'm hungry…or sleepy…and both!" she laughed in disguise

He let out a sigh and remained staring her. He knew her well enough to know she was just giving futile excuses. He leaned closer to the desk and allowed himself to demonstrate his concern about her. There was a while they had broken up but he still cared about her and still felt bad for ignoring her when she most needed someone.

"Kate…you don't have to lie to me… I know there's only two things that affect you immensely like that: your bastard brother and disturbing dreams. I take the bet that it's the latest option, am I wrong?"

"Why do you care? As far as I remember you ignored me when I most needed you!" she said defensively

"And I regret it deeply"

"So now you want to make amends?"

"I wouldn't put it that way…I really do care"

"Why?"

"Because I do! Can't I?"

"No you can't! you had your turn and you threw it away. Your ignorance made me humiliate myself to my boss!"

"And he lost his fiancée because of you" he said in impulse

She let out a heartily laugh, "Now the truth came out. You don't care. You're just jealous!"

"Jealous?"

She nodded in confirmation, "Yes! I saw your look…it was just like everybody else's when I arrived with him. You don't believe I was sick. You think I was having a "couple's time" with him"

Piers rolled his eyes and gasped. He thought for a second in not replying, but the table was already made and it was about time for them to discuss it once and for all, "Now I remember why I always thought we'd never work and as you brought those things up, let me tell you something: You mistake intelligence from arrogance. You think you're superior because you have a quick learning and because of that you think you're better, that you know all about people and everything… that's presuming, and not knowing it!  
In general, nobody really cares what you do or who you fuck…  
So if you don't want to talk about something, just say it. Don't get presuming things you don't know! You can't know! That's a dumb move you do. Having a high intellect without humility makes you dumb and arrogant and that's why people step away from you. Nobody wants someone that can't step off the pedestal and throwing their shit on them.  
And more importantly: I don't give a damn if you sleep with Chris because the time for me to be taken by surprise is gone as I know you live with him! I admit that initially I had a moment I felt a bit jealousy but then I reflected about it and I moved on. If you're romantically involved or not…I don't really care! All I know is what you or Chris tell me. I don't ask.  
and if you want things to change for the best for you, be a better person and less inconvenient.  
Now excuse me, I have work to do"

Kate listened to Piers' lecture, surprised with his calmness. That was not his usual as he tended to be a temperamental man. His words echoed in her mind as she watched him stand up from the chair and head to the door without looking back.

It passed a matter of seconds but Kate's fast thinking took it all in frame and made her sigh with resignation, "Piers…" she called him as he touched the doorknob

He turned around to see her.

"I'm sorry, and I really mean it."

"No problem"

"There is a problem"

"Which is?"

She stood up from the chair and walked over him, "Despite the harshness of your words, I believe you're right, somehow…despite not agreeing with all"

"I was honest"

"I know…I appreciate it"

"So what's the problem?"

She looked down biting her lips, "My honesty now…if you want to know as we are already washing the dishes…"

"Just say it"

She inhaled letting out a heavy sigh as she looked up at him, "I miss you…I feel lonely. I talk to many people but I could only count on you and Lucy. Too many things happened in a row and I didn't have time to digest properly…especially that I had lost you. I never really thought you would fall in love for real with someone else as we used to have such a good time, and I'm not only saying it sexually, but in general when you weren't acting weird and rejecting me."

"It's complicated…"

"Yeah, I've heard that a lot. From you and from Chris… but it makes me wonder if it's really only me the problem?"

"No it's not…not in our case"

"Why not me then?

"Kate…we tried many times. In less than a year we had so many ons and offs…"

"Mostly because of your weirdness"

"That's why is complicated, but I don't believe a relationship works when based on so many uncertainties"

"Life is uncertain!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't take the risk to hurt us even more"

"Bullshit!"

"No it's not! Kate we always end up arguing!"

"Because you're temperamental!"

"And so are you!"

"But I never had doubts!"

"And I did! Do you really think I want to live in a volatile relationship? I already live hell at work, I don't want a mined ground at home too!"

"You're exaggerating!"

"The point is, this would never work…not with me ever being sure I could love you"

"Love is complicated"

"No it's not…I don't have doubts about Merah"

She covered her face as the tears came out, "So why are you here? Why do you care? Do want to torture me or something?"

"No! I don't want to torture you, but you don't need to be romantically involved to care about someone"

"You're my ex!"

"And I thought we were alright…"

"No, you assumed wrong. Nothing is alright! I'm living a crappy life, going through hell in my mind and the only person I can count on is Chris… the juicer I never thought I could relate to and the real mined ground!"

"You can count on me too, that's why I'm here"

"No Piers, I can't count on you! I still cannot accept you chose Merah over me!"

There was a disturbing moment of silence. The dishes were still too dirty. Would they ever get clean?

With all that said and nothing else to be added, Piers let out a long sigh, "So deal with it…because…it's really over" he said calmly before opening the door and close it as he left the office.

Kate, the young brunette, fell kneeling abruptly to the ground as her legs weakened while she busted into tears. Alone. Only her sobs could be heard in the silent office. She took awhile to recompose before the phone rang and she had to pass the message for Chris.

Piers rejoined Chris at the training camp, frowning more than his usual, which caught Chris' attention.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" he said almost on a sharp tone

"I'll need you to handle things here for a couple hours"

"Going to another meeting?"

"No, not exactly"

"So you're going on a date?"

Chris gasped, "No, it's not a date. I'm going to have lunch with Angelina"

Piers made a face, "Ahh, so it's a date"

"No Piers, it's not a date. It's just a lunch with a friend"

"Right!"

Chris ignored the younger soldier's incredulity and gave him instructions before heading to his office to give further instructions to Kate.

* * *

Katerina had redone her makeup while still in the office when she heard someone opening the door, and immediately she kept the makeup into her purse and pretended to be working on the computer.

"Any messages or news for me?" Chris asked as he entered the office and walked over his desk to open the larger drawer and took out his bag

Kate was sitting on his chair and watched his moves, noticing he had taken a shirt, his wallet and a bottle of perfume, "Yes, the U.S. base asked about the progress report"

"Tell them 98% of the work done. We only need Janet's numbers report and Piers' to send it all in one file and return home" he said as he took off his uniform shirt and changed to a green shirt

"Okay, and when do you think we will be returning home?" she replied enjoying the view of Chris' naked torso

"As soon as we get all the reports done, but I believe we may return tomorrow. It depends on how quick you can be in the info compilation"

"I'll be quick as I can"

"I know, I believe your efficiency" he said giving a quick smile

Kate smiled back, not being able to keep her curiosity, "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I'm going to have lunch with Angie"

Immediately Kate's smile faded and her face became shadowed, not being able to say anything else.

"I'll leave the business phone with you and if you need to call my for any emergency call me on my private number"

Kate moved her feet restless, keeping the very serious demeanor.

"Did you hear me?" he asked

"Yeah" she replied in a sharp tone with her arms crossed

With no further lines, Chris left the office. His perfume fragrance in the air, while the shadowed brunette remained sitting on the chair. Her blood boiling as she tried to control the urge to give a loud scream and throw her anger on the objects.

* * *

 **Zena Restaurant, Edonia**

Chris crossed the street after parking his car so he could get in the restaurant at the corner of the building.

As he entered, he searched the tables looking for Angelina and saw when she waved at him as she was sitting on the bottom table near the veranda window.

He leaned down to her face to greet her with a kiss on cheek when he noticed the little fire-head girl sitting next to her making him smile.

"I hope you don't mind I had to bring Olivia with me. George is working and my mother had to go to an appointment…"

"No problem at all. I was looking forward to meet Olivia someday" he said sitting on the seat before her

"That day has arrived!"

"Yeah. She's so cute. I can see the resemblance…beautiful as her mother"

Angelina smiled embarrassed and proud, "Thank you. She's a great girl and my world!"

Chris nodded with a soft smile, "I can see that"

At that moment a waiter stopped by their table and registered their order.

"So, did I disturb your work with my sudden invitation?"

"Not at all. The work is almost done. Probably we'll be leaving tomorrow"

"So I got you on the last day…great timing!" she said jokingly

"Yeah you did."

"That's a relief. It was worthy spending 2 days and a full night to finish my new project"

"Really? What project is that if you can tell me?"

"I can tell you is all about you"

He giggled, "You're getting me curious"

"I'm not that good with suspense but it's something I want to give you…actually I need to give you because all the time I was working on it I felt like I was listening to voices telling me to give it to you and someone else…"

"You're not good with suspense? You're totally in suspense mode! I'm super curious now"

She laughed, "It's in the car. I'll give it to you when we leave, but I hope you will like it and that you don't mind taking an extra content in your luggage"

"If is something from you I don't mind at all"

"It's not that big…"

"You're teasing!" he jokingly

"Just a bit…"

"Naughty Angie!"

She grinned, "I can be naughty sometimes"

"I'm sure you do!"

Angelina couldn't help the laugh and could feel the hotness on her face due to the blush as she seemed to catch a double sense in his words, "Stop it. I'm sure I'm blushing already"

"I love when you blush. It's cute!"

"I must be looking like a red tomato now"

He giggled, "No you're not"

"I doubt it"

"Don't doubt me. It's true. You're dealing well with the blush"

"You make me blush often…"

"I could make you do other things often, but…I'll keep it to myself in respect to your boyfriend" he said in a joking way

Angelina opened her mouth and covered it with her hand as she made a surprised face, "Chris!"

"I can be naughty sometimes"

"I have no doubts Teasing Chris!"

"Sorry. Don't get me wrong… I'm just kidding." he said feeling embarrassed

She laughed, "Who only sees that serious face doesn't imagine moments like this!"

He laughed, "I like having my secrets!"

She giggled, "And after this naughty moment, what's new on your end? Did you go to the Festival in Bohma?"

"Yeah I did"

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah, it was good leaving the routine"

"Did you try the Bohman beer? I hope you didn't lose control as it did happen to me because the first time I tried it I got higher than I expected and I ended up doing things with my boyfriend that I normally wouldn't so…"

"Yes I did try it and I kind of got in trouble after that"

"Oh dang, you passed the limit and you did something you shouldn't" she said in a playful tone

Chris widened his eyes in surprise. Mute.

Noticing Chris' reaction, Angelina made a face as she apparently had a right guess, "Oh boy…is that what happened?"

"You said you did things you normally won't do…"

"Yes I did and your face tells me you did the same…or kind of the same…"

"Is that an 'expected' side-effect of the beer?"

"I don't know…I'm not used to drink…so anything can happen when I drink…and that's why I avoid drinking…" she stuttered

"I see…"

Their meals arrived, spoiling their moment of revelation. Despite the curiosity Angelina didn't insist on the subject as she noticed Chris' tangent replies avoiding details.

When they were finished with their meals and after Angelina finished feeding her daughter they left the restaurant and headed to her car and talked during the walk.

"So the day after tomorrow you'll be back to your routine…" she looked away briefly, "And go home with Kate?" she asked breaking the ice

Chris nodded in confirmation, "Yeah, Kate, Piers and Janet" he replied not getting the real sense of her words of 'home with Kate'

She let out a sigh. She shouldn't get bothered about that. Actually, why was she bothered about that?

"May I ask you something personal?" she asked with a contended tone

"Sure"

"Be honest with me"

"I don't lie Angie and much less to you. I have a lot of consideration for you"

She smiled faintly, "I have a lot of consideration for you too"

"So what do you want to know?"

She let out a distressed sigh, "I don't know if I should ask that anymore…but like I said before I don't want to cause you any trouble but knowing you live with someone else and after observing you…is Kate more than just your secretary or more than just a friend?"

"You're bringing that up again…"

"I need to be sure that I'm not causing any trouble for you"

"You don't cause any trouble for me"

"But I saw the way she looks at you…and at me…she doesn't like when I'm near you…and the way you treat each other…it's too friendly for just a boss-employee relationship"

Biting his lips, Chris looked away frowning. Kate seemed always to come between in whatever he did in his life recently. That made him question himself if he was doing the right thing in helping her in everything he could.

"Do you really want to know what happened in the Festival's night?"

"You don't want to answer about Kate?"

"It's all about Kate"

Angelina didn't like the way she felt now. She could sense a harsh truth coming at her way. Despite preferring the awful truth, it was still disturbing having to listen to it, but she hated more omissions than the hurting truths.

"So tell me…"

"Things have changed since that night. We have come closer…"

"Closer?"

He nodded

"Did you sleep together?"

He cleared his throat looking away briefly, "Kind of…"

"Kind of?"

"I don't want to get in details about the first night"

"I don't need those details…I hate when I ask something I really don't want to know…"

"But you asked"

"Yeah and you gave me a 'kind of', so that got me confused"

"You're not more confused than me"

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what's going on with me since the night of the Festival"

"You can tell me…"

"I crossed the line with Kate and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing in helping her as everybody thinks we are a couple and then I have these dreams that I see her but at the same time it's not her and I don't know why it keeps repeating and I don't know why I can't step away from her!"

"Why do you want to step away from her?"

"She puts me in trouble! I lost my fiancée because of her. I have risked career and my reputation for her. I have spent most of my time with her and I don't know why I'm doing this and I hate not knowing why!"

"Have you ever gone a week without a rationalization?" she asked

"I'm not rationalizing anything."

"No?"

"What do you want me to say Angie?"

"I want to know why you're so angry…"

Chris looked at her astonished. Angelina seemed to be able to read through him. The anger. The anger that consumed him at times. The anger that made him stop the good moment he was having with Kate the night of the Festival. The anger that made him not giving in.

"Kate is a good person. A bit crazy and ambitious, but she's good. She has good intentions and I pity her condition. She doesn't deserve this…mess."

"You're like a volcano about to explode Chris and if you see the universe conspiring for to be with her…don't fight it. Maybe she's the one that will transmute all that anger you feel. I may not know her, but from what I observed, she has a strong personality. She has fierce that shows she's a strong woman and not a broken doll as you may see"

Chris gasped, "Why of all people are you the one telling me this? I can't love because I love someone else…"

"And why aren't you with the one you love?"

"Because I can't be with her… She's taken!"

Angelina swallowed and stared at her daughter. A heavy sensation cored through her. She couldn't believe she was saying all those things either. She wasn't fond of Kate, but she had George and Chris was just the man that saved her and someone she barely met despite having so much in common – She had George…

"If she's taken and is not willing to cause a revolution in her life for you…So you don't have a reason to not try with someone else. Love is built and it's not an instant magic like in the fairytales"

"I know love is not like in the fairytales"

"So why the fear? Can't you see it's making you angry?"

"There is no place for love in my life... But I don't know another way. I wish I could change, I wish I could switch jobs and be able to do other things, but that's my job! I know that my work doesn't let me live with anyone."

"But Kate is better than anyone to understand your job routine. She's there with you day and night, or do you have something against having a relationship with a coworker or with a subordinate?"

"I don't give a damn to hierarchy and my most significant relationships were with coworkers"

"Aren't you attracted to Kate?"

"Yeah, but…why Kate?"

"Because she's your Achilles' ankle. Even I can see that"

"I just wanted to help her… I don't want to hurt her…"

"You won't. The universe is screaming at you to give her a chance…I have a feeling that she's the one for you…"

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Will you step away from me because of her?"

She bit her lips in distress, "I'll be living an ocean away from you with my family while you will have yours with Kate…"

He gasped, "This is not going to happen, Kate can't have children"

Angelina made a face, "Adoption?"

"You are already drawing my future when I myself don't know if I will give her a try"

"I just want the best for you Chris…if not with her, then with someone else…who knows…"

"I want the best for you too…but you didn't answer me, will you step away?"

"Not if you want me to…"

"I don't! I may be exaggerating but you're the best thing that happened in my life recently!"

"Likewise Chris"

"So what do you have for me?"

"Are you calmer now?"

"Yeah"

"Okay…so let me put this young lady on her seat and then I'll give your gifts"

"Gifts in plural?"

She laughed, "Yeah. It's for you and someone else…"

"Ah come on…stop the suspense"

She was quick in arranging her daughter and opened the trunk to get two medium-sized rectangular packages.

"I remember you told me your birthday was earlier the month, so consider this as a birthday gift"

"Thanks, but what is it?"

She giggled, "Can't you make a guess about the only talent I have?"

He laughed, "You have many talents. I can't pick"

"Come on…you know what I am known for"

Chris made a face pretending to be thinking hard, "Humm, a painting?"

"Yes, a very special painting!"

"Because is for me?"

She laughed loud, "No, cocky man! Because it's made by me of course" she joked

"Hahaha. Why is it so special?"

"Because that came from a dream. A very vivid dream…which I call inspiration. There's a whole context in all the elements of the figures and I tried my best to put it all on the frames and I couldn't stop thinking to give it to you, so as an obedient girl here it is"

"Can I open to see it?"

"Sure!"

Chris opened the paperboard and took the frame carefully from it. He was impressed with the rich details of the back of a couple walking holding hands on a seemly water path while apparently they carried something on the other arms. He could see their profiles as they stared each other smiling warmly. There was a soft aura around them. A loving aura. The man had broad shoulders and short hair, he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and brown trousers. The woman, at the man's left side, had very feminine traits and she was wearing a long white dress with a red ribbon on her waist level, long curly brown hair, red lipstick and he could see the female had green eyes.

Chris was not a man to get looking at many details and that was all he could notice on the painting.

"It's a lovely painting. Who are they?"

Angelina giggled with a shrug, "I don't know. George told me the man resembles you…"

"Me?" Chris laughed

"Well, maybe it's because there were some moments I really thought of you but… I don't know… so will you keep it?"

"Sure! Why not?"

"Because you don't seem to be an art man and I'm sure this is not what you expected"

"No, it's definitely not something I expected but I like being surprised. I will definitely be very careful to bring it home and place it where everyone can see when I get visits!"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes! I'm flattered in getting a painting from you! And for free, come on!" he said jokingly in the end

Angelina laughed and gave a light slap on his shoulder, "You so idiot!" she said in a playful tone

"So, what about the other one?"

The redhead made a face, "That one you cannot open yet."

"Okay…but why not?"

"Because it's the special part of this work…you can say it's the two sides of the same, but the other side is not meant to you right now"

"You're speaking like Lionel!"

She let out a loud laugh, "Oh really? Maybe it's because we relate a lot and I have spent a lot of time with him"

"I'm sure of that"

"So well…you'll have to be patient and wait the right time to see it, and please don't take a peek before you deliver it to the receiver"

"Oh, so I have to deliver it?"

"Yup"

"And who is the receiver?"

Angelina made a naughty smile, "Won't take a guess?"

Chris was able to read her and made a face, "Kate?"

"Yay! You got it!"

"Why Kate?"

She gave a shrug, "I'm just the messenger here…don't ask me explanations"

"She will ask me an explanation!"

"Just say it's a gift the universe wanted me to deliver to you"

"She won't buy it"

"You can't know…but if there's a case she won't accept it, you can give me it back as I have accomplished my mission"

"I won't you give you back! It's my two-faced birthday gift!"

"Oh yeah…that's a good option too."

"Thank you anyways"

There was a sudden moment of silence as the realization they had to depart their ways. That was a good lunch break for those two. They had good moments, funny moments and even tense moments, and now the sad moment. It was time for them to resume their routines at work, at home – with their families.

Chris put the boards on the ground near the car so he could give a goodbye hug to his ginger friend – and soul partner. That was a long and cherish hug. Her thin body fit perfectly his arms as it enlaced her thin waist, while her arms enlaced his neck. The floral scent of her perfume on her hair smelt delicious to him. He didn't want to let go of her. He had hope that she had taken his hint about his real feelings for her during their crazy talk and small argument. He couldn't say it loud as he did want to respect her relationship with George, but he couldn't let that pass on white and let her unaware that there was another option for them if they ever desired to cause a revolution and leave their routines.

Angelina enjoyed the sensation to be in his arms –she enjoyed it more than her reason allowed. She could feel his heartbeat against hers. He was as excited as her. A part of her wished she was the one he was talking about he had real feelings. That omitted part of her –her beast – would enjoy to go on an adventure with that man, but the other part of her kept her grounded and constantly reminded her that she was already settled with someone else. She had a daughter with someone else. A good and kind man named George. He didn't deserve her beast to be ever released so she took in all the hope and forbidden wishes and tried to release herself from that brave soldier.

They exchanged gazes. There was a fire in the hazel eyes. There was passion in the emerald-like ones.

For one last moment Chris allowed her to read through him as he continued holding her very close to his body. He knew she was good at guessing. Reading him.

There was incompletion in that story – their story.

For one last moment Angelina allowed her beast to take control of her reaction and she could read Chris' signs as he refused to let go of her and leaned over to give her a kiss.

But she could also read his beast – his anger.

And in the last moment she turned her head to the side and felt his lips kissing the corner of hers.

There was flame in that partial contact. Both felt it.

None allowed it to burn.

Chris released her. Apologetic. Embarrassed for trying to cross the forbidden line.

She blushed not only because of the embarrassment for almost cheat on George, but she blushed due to the fire triggered in her.

"Have a safe trip Chris…"

"Thanks. Take care Angie…"

On his way back to his car, Chris saw a souvenir shop and decided to enter it and buy some souvenirs to his friends. It was his way to tell them he was thinking of them during his absence during trips.

* * *

 **BSAA Office, Edonia**

Kate was restless in Chris' office. She counted the hours of his absence. She was having one hell of a day.

"Lunch…my ass!" she cursed checking the time again.

One hour that tripled.

In three hours Kate did nothing but to keep in control her sudden fury. No report. She wanted to have an outburst. Scream loud. Curse that bastard.

But why?

She had no right for it. He was nothing hers, but her boss and a "friend".

In three hours she had done only 1% of all she had to do. Of all Chris had trusted her to do.

Tired of staying sitting, she decided to head to the reception again to see if he was back. As she stood up huffing, she headed to the door. When she touched the doorknob she noticed the door opening and quickly moved to the side to not be hit.

"Chris!"

"Hi Kate" he smiled faintly

"You're finally back!"

"Did any emergency happen?" he asked as he passed by her

She could smell a floral fragrance on him and she bit her lips and squeezed her hands as she controlled her boiling blood.

"Did any emergency happen?" he asked again looking back at her

"No" she replied sharply

"Did you send the report already?" he asked as he unbuttoned his shirt to put his uniform shirt again

"I'm not finished yet"

"No problem. I'll finish it with you"

"No, you don't have to…it's my job"

"I'm already back, it's my job too"

"I'm just going to the toilet room for a while"

"Where did you stop?" he asked taking his seat on the desk

"I told you I will finish it!" she almost screamed

Chris looked up at her with a serious face which made her feel embarrassed.

"Sorry…"

"Are you alright?" he asked

"I'm fine! I'll be right back"

Chris rested his back on the chair, thoughtful. Distant. Recalling the remarkable moments of the afternoon. Bittersweet memories.

He still couldn't believe he almost kissed Angelina.

He wasn't that kind of man and disrespect other relationships – or his- as loyalty was a strong trait on him. A deep principle he always carried.

He checked the computer to distract his mind, noticing Kate's progress on the report. He giggled with the no progress at all. Kate failed that task…

"I saw the way she looks at you…she doesn't like when I'm near you"

He recalled Angelina's words.

Was his lunch break the reason for Kate's failure? Too much coincidence.

He thought again remembering her reaction when he arrived. She was clearly "different". There was one Kate before he left and another when he returned.

* * *

 **Girl's Toilet Room**

Kate faced her reflection in the mirror. A shadowed reflection.

"He was with her… that son of a bitch was with her… I could smell her on him…Angie the sly!" she murmured several times as her blood boiled as she imagined scenarios that only made her even angrier

Her face suddenly changed when she heard a toilet flush and Janet leaving the cabin.

The women stared each other through the mirror reflection. Kate tried to disguise her demeanor but she knew Janet had heard it. The other woman didn't or couldn't even disguise she didn't hear it.

"What are you looking at?" Kate said annoyed

"I know it's not my problem but I won't pretend I didn't hear you… do you want to vent?"

"Do I look like I need to talk?"

"Yes you do… I can relate to you"

"As in?"

"As I have been in that situation when I was younger…not taken seriously when I gave my all to the man I was in love with. My friends told me he was not a man for me but I insisted. In resume, one day I found out or confirmed he had others. I felt the betrayed, angry. I couldn't understand why he had done that to me. I did everything he asked, everything he wanted but in the end he had another favorite toy and I ended up fighting with her. I suffered a lot for a long time and felt like a piece of crap, until one day I realized I was too good for him. He was just a player, a moron. A waste of time torturing myself and then one day when I had forgotten his existence and allowed myself to see other people, he learned of it and called me saying he wanted me back"

"And what did you do?"

"I sent him to hell"

"Did it work?"

"No. he cursed and got calling me until one day I blocked him, changed numbers and ignored him every time we ended up meeting because of fate"

"There are many jerks out there"

"True but don't let it consume you. They're not worth it not matter how hot the guy is. They take you for granted and then they get tired of you. In the beginning everything is like a fairytale and they the most perfect things on earth, they lead you on…then the dream become a nightmare…but in the end you are the one with the power to decide how much they will affect you. How they will destroy you or make you stronger. Cursing the other toy won't solve it, not even beating them will solve it because in reality they are just a toy in the player's game."

"She's the sly type"

"It doesn't matter…your real anger is not about them but yourself. You're angry with you for believing him. For wanting him just for you. For loving him…"

"I don't love him"

Janet made an incredulous face, "Kate…I know I cannot tell you what to do and you won't really follow my advice, but try to reflect in not letting it consume you. I know it's harder when you keep seeing the person that hurts you but remember to not let it consume you…don't let the anger consume you. You're smarter than that shit you're feeling. Don't let a man blur your makeup" the woman said in support before leaving the room

Kate stared the mirror half thoughtful, half angered. Janet was right, she was smarter than that shitty life and situation. Piers was right, she just needed to say it.

Inhaling deeply and letting out a long sigh, she recomposed herself as much she could before returning to the mined office.

* * *

 **Chris' Office**

Chris worked on the report when he saw Kate entering the office. She seemed calmer after spending one hour in the "toilet room".

"Are you working on the report?" she asked pretending nothing happened as she sat on the chair before his desk

"Yeah. You can go back to the hotel or whatever you prefer to do"

"I want to help you finish it. You gave me a task and I didn't conclude it. The two of us will finish it faster so we can return home and I find another place to stay"

"Find another place? We already talked about it. We made a deal"

"I know we made a deal but deals can be changed. I'm changing it"

"Why this sudden change?"

"It's not sudden. It's necessary"

"Will you tell me why?"

"I'd rather not"

"Is it something I did?"

Kate bit her lips reluctant, "no…"

He could catch the lie in her tone.

"Let's just finish the work…"

"Sure, but before we get back to work I'd like to give you this" he said opening the drawer and took small package from it, "I hope you like it. It's not as fancy like the one Mr. Lionel gave you but when my eyes laid on it I immediately thought of you"

"What is it?"

"Open it"

Her eyes widened, her mouth opened when she saw the necklace with a pendant in shape of heart with a heart shaped red gem in the middle.

"Red is your favorite color, isn't it?" he said breaking the silence

"Yeah…"

"Let me help put it"

"No…you don't have to…"

"I want to!" he said standing up from his seat

Kate lifted her hair ponytail for his better vision. Her skin shivered when she felt the soft touch of his fingertips on her neck skin.

"It's simple and fake gem…but…"

"But I loved it!"

"Really?"

She made a large smile and looked up at him, "Really! I don't need fancy things to be happy"

He smiled back at her. The old Kate was back.

"Heart things are priceless!"

"I bought it from the bottom of my heart…"

"Why?"

His voice totally failed with that question. His lips moved but his vocal cords were mute. He only moved his head not knowing what to say, "Just because…" he said with an unsteady voice

She smiled from ear to ear, "Thank you! It's my favorite gift ever now!"

Out of sudden she jumped on him and caught him into an embrace. The friction of her body against him made his legs tremble with the strong shiver he felt.

A weird sensation that made him feel a slight panic.

"Maybe she's the one that will transmute all that anger you feel… I don't want to hurt her… You won't. The universe is screaming at you to give her a chance…" he recalled Angie's words

There was a complete different sensation between the embraces of those women. Angie's sheltered him. Kate's intrigued him.

Soon he realized his eyes were shuttered closed as he opened it to realize the young brunette looking up at him.

" _Reknow_ "

He recalled it and seemed to have listened to it so close to his ear.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern as she released from him

"I'm fine…"

"I'm sorry…" she said apologetic

"Don't be…" he said grabbing hold of her right hand as she was at his left side

A weird sensation cored through her as well, triggering something inside her.

.

.

" _What does it mean Chris?"_

" _I don't know…But let's find out…together"_

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and Xaori** **for the reviews! :D You guys kick ass!**

 **Thank you all for following, reading and for favoriting. It means a lot to me!**

 **Now I apologize for the long absence, but I needed this time just for me. I'm still working on things and life is taking a lot from me lately, but I won't drop this work. There are still many messages to be given and I will stick to it :D**

 **Stay tuned!**


	55. Love Game

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains sexual content**

* * *

 **10:30PM**

"Phew, we made it!" Kate said stretching on the chair

"Yeah we did"

"And I'm starving! I need to go on a haunt to get something to eat, take a rest and go home!" she said standing up from her chair

Chris replied turning off the computer and leaving his chair, "Agreed. Well except for the part to go home, as we need their authorization first. They'll examine it and see if it's accordingly"

She let out a frustrated sigh, "You're so good at bursting my bubble…"

He giggled, "Sorry, gotta keep the feet grounded"

"Not too grounded…and I only took a shortcut…eventually we'll go home, right?"

"Yeah, we will"

Kate opened the door and was followed by Chris as he turned off the lights and closed the door.

"Will you join me on the haunt?" she asked as they headed to the car to return to the hotel

He laughed, "I got chips!"

"Nah, I need real food! I just wonder if there is any diner open this time of the night because I'm already sick of hotel food"

"I'm sure there is after all it's Friday night…"

She inhaled deeply and let out a sigh, "Friday night…Those were the days that haunt had a different purpose…"

He gave a slight giggle with a shrug, "Nothing stops you to enjoy Friday nights"

"All I want to enjoy now is a big plate of food!"

He laughed

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"No thanks, I'm not that hungry, all I want is a good relaxing shower"

"Oh yeah, that is important too"

"But if you want we can get you something to eat before we go to the hotel"

"Yes please!"

(*)

They didn't take long to find an open diner.

They entered the diner and picked a seat. Chris headed to the bathroom while Kate read the menu.

She was reading the menu when she noticed someone taking the seat before her. She looked up to see if it was Chris, but for her surprise she saw an unknown man.

"What a beautiful girl is doing alone this time of the night?" he asked with a flirty tone

"I'm not alone"

The man looked to the sides and smiled with mischief, "Right, I'm making company to you" he said flirty

Kate rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Get out of here!"

"Ooh, rude girl! But still so beautiful. Nice combination"

"I know I'm beautiful but you'd better leave me alone or my boyfriend won't be so nice to you" she said spotting Chris at distance

The man smirked, "Ha, you don't have a boyfriend…yet…but I can be your boy…"

"Get the hell out of here or I don't respond for myself!" she beat the table raising her voice

"I guess the young gentleman prefers to talk to me outside" Chris said with a serious tone as he had noticed from afar the man's disturbance

The man looked up to the side and due to the alcohol or maybe because he was a real fool, he didn't feel intimidated by the serious man at his side, "Are you the so called boyfriend?"

"If you don't want to have a nice talk outside, you have three seconds to get the hell out of my face and leave my girlfriend alone." Chris frowned, "One…Two…"

At that moment another male interrupted them and took the disturbing man by the arm, "I'm sorry guys, my friend drank a little too much... You don't want to mess with the guy. Did you see his size?"

"I'm not scared of him! I kick his ass! Women love men fighting over them!"

"Come on dude, he's her boyfriend! Let's go!" the friend replied pulling him by the arm

Chris watched the men leave with a serious expression before taking the seat in front of Kate. Kate watched them with a satisfied feeling of victory.

"Thank you for playing to be my fake boyfriend…"

"No problem. I noticed from afar the moron was being an ass with you"

They didn't talk much after that. Chris took his cell phone and started chatting with someone. Kate chatted with Lucy while she waited for her order.

Chris couldn't help the grin on his face when he saw a sudden message from an old good fuck he had. A model that loved travelling the world and that had an interesting hobby: pole dance. Maybe she could be the someone else Angie told him to give a try as the universe seemed to make their paths cross as it had already happened of them bumping into each other at the same location other times.

"Hello Handsome, how are you? It's been a long time since we last met… what part of the world are you? I hope you have a good day or night. Xoxo"

Seeing she was online he didn't take long to reply to her, "Hey Eva. I'm so glad to hear about you. It's indeed a long time. Right now I'm in Edonia for work, you?"

"Hi, you're online! This must be destiny because I'm in Edonia too! What part of town are you?"

"Yeah, I couldn't agree less. I'm downtown."

"What hotel are you?"

"Downtown Hotel. You?"

"LVNDR Hotel. According to my GPS, we are at 15minutes distance by car"

"Cool, but right now I'm not at the hotel, but a diner"

"Well, I'm bored at a boring bar…When will you leave Edonia?"

"Unfortunately tomorrow or the day after tomorrow"

"Oh, so there's still time for a catch up tonight or are you too tired to make it happen?"

"No, I'm not tired at all!"

"So do you come here or I go until you there?"

"I go to you in a maximum of an hour. I need to get back to the hotel to take a shower"

"All that long just for that? Where we go has a shower too…" she sent a flirty emoji

Chris grinned and briefly looked at Kate who was having her meal and typing on her phone, "Yeah but I can't go now as I need to drop my workmate at the hotel"

"Oh, you're not alone… now I know why you're so resistant…don't want your friend to see me or us…"

Chris cleared his throat unconsciously and chuckled, "It's not that…"

"Well, so if your 'friend' won't mind, we could have fun…the three of us…again…"

He chuckled and couldn't help the slight giggle as he remembered the night Eva was talking about. The night they met after a long period without seeing each other as he started dating Laureen. They were at a bar in London when he had recently broken up with Laureen. He, Eva and a girlfriend of hers did have one blast of a night!

"I don't think so…"

"Why? Is She jealousy to share you?"

He chuckled, "Who says it's a She? By the way, I'm leaving now to the hotel. Meet you at yours in about an hour, could be?"

"I'm looking forward to it. See you later"

Kate was finishing her meal. Watching Chris' reactions to the nice conversation he was having as she had never seen him grin so much when talking to someone. She suspected there was a female, maybe sly Angie. She couldn't be sure, but she could tell he was anxious an in a hurry as he drove faster than the usual.

So she vented with Lucy, until she received a surprising message that made her grin. Now she was the anxious one, but as soon she texted back, her phone died which got her upset - again.

* * *

 **Downtown Hotel, Chris and Piers' Room**

"Dear Piers.

I'm writing you this letter because I know if I call, the moment I hear your voice I'll be lost. I know you only left India last month because it was time to go home. But what I've realized since then is that this is my home. There's the Far East Branch and they want me here. My family is here. My life is here, Piers. And as much as I would have loved for you to stay and be a part of it, I know that your work and your life would inevitably take you away. We could fly back and forth in one of those commuter relationships for awhile, I'm sure. But, as close as we are, there would always be an ocean between us.

So, it's best we say goodbye, my love. Merah."

Heartbroken Piers squeezed his cell phone after reading Merah's message. He was really into her. She was a nice girl, fun, kind, brave and determined. He really thought they could work as they had the same profession and could understand it about the other. Unfortunately that wasn't the case and now he was a free man again.

He stood up and walked over the mini bar to get a Bohman beer can and turned on the radio on a random station.

He was having a one hell of a day and night. He still recalled Kate's confession earlier the day and it was still surprising that she didn't snap at him after his lecture.

That intrigued him. Kate was changed. Maybe that was a big coincidence but those significant changed happened after she started working with Chris.

Was it the influence of one another? As Chris was changed too.

The pair used to spend a lot of time together. They lived together!

They stopped denying some intimacy, but they still didn't admit a relationship. Could he really believe their denials about a relationship? He knew they had become 'intimate' a few nights ago! He saw it! He even gave advises after it! Chris even gave gifts for Kate! They had slept together again, despite Chris denying having sex.

Was that possible a man and a woman sharing the same bed without sexual intercourse?  
Or more exactly was it possible Kate sleeping with Chris without having sex after they had crossed the line the night before?

Was he missing something about those two?

Something wasn't right in that math. Now that he thought about it, he realized that wasn't right. It seemed he was giving Kate, his Kate, to his boss, to his friend. He was giving her easily to him.

It seemed he was giving his girl, his Kate, to his superior, to his friend.

Kate was changed but confessed she still missed him.

He missed her too.

He wasn't sure they could work, but he seemed to start seeing the sign of 'the universe' showing him to give it a try. To give them a try. He was a free man now.

So he took his cell phone again and did something he should've had done long ago. He unblocked Kate from his private number.  
Seeing her online, he sent her a message.

He wanted Kate back again. He wanted His Kate back again. And he wasn't going to share His Kate with anyone else.

And so he heard a noise at the door.

* * *

Chris entered the room and saw Piers sitting on the armchair, drinking beer and listening to the radio. They greeted quickly as Chris hurried to the bathroom for a quick shower.

Piers checked the time and observed Chris' behavior.

"Going somewhere?" Piers asked after noticing Chris taking a pair of jeans, a shirt and a jacket from his suitcase

"I have a date" Chris replied putting his clothes on

"With Angie?"

"No. Eva"

"Eva the flexi pole dancer?"

"Yeah"

"I didn't know she was in town"

"Me neither! We just found out."

"Well, that seems fate. You get so along and always end up bumping into each other in all the years you know"

"Yeah"

"Maybe you could give it a try. She's a nice girl"

"Yeah, maybe I should give it a try and that's why I'm going to meet her right away as we have the opportunity"

"Right! By the way, do you know where Kate is? We were chatting and she stopped replying"

"She's in her room. Her phone died"

"Oh, I see…may I ask you something?"

"Yeah"

"Are you going to return to sleep here?"

Chris checked his watch. Almost midnight, "Probably not. Why?"

"Please don't… I want to take the opportunity for having the room just for me and call Kate to come to a resolution from our earlier argue and spend the night together as we reconcile"

Chris discreetly and unconsciously gritted his teeth giving his back, "Okay" he said sharply heading to the door.

* * *

 **Downtown Hotel, Kate and Janet's room**

Kate entered the room she shared with Janet and the first thing she did was to put her phone to charge before she headed to the bathroom to shower.

She was pissed. She didn't know why but she was very pissed.

After all that necklace moment and all the good times they had shared the last few days, he was grinning because of someone else!

She couldn't comprehend him. She couldn't comprehend it! Was she being silly enough to lead on herself that something else could be happening between them? Was he really the fisherman that fortune teller said? Was that woman a real seer or just another charlatan?

Why something in her wanted to believe that dream? Those words? That they could more than just friends? Okay, they were already more than just mere friends as they had already crossed that line – despite her not remembering it. Was it that bad that her brain made the favor in not keeping a slightest part any good they had that night? Making her wonder, at times, if he was a good kisser as much he was good at hugging?

Ah, she recalled that thanks to the night at Lionel's house. She felt so good and secure in his arms. Their bodies spooned perfectly. She recalled she wanted that to last forever.

And now someone else made him grin right in front of her! He was so focused in his cell phone that she felt as it just her and her meal – and Lucy listening to her venting, as the usual.

If it wasn't for Lucy reasoning with her, most probably she would've had done something that she could regret later such as jumping on him and kiss him when they were alone in the office because of they had that opportunity often as they spent some time alone in his office when he wasn't training rookies or doing other work things outside the office. Or when she slept in his apartment.

Sometimes the curiosity made her wonder how good could be to feel his skin against hers…again – they had already rubbed together, right? In that night she hated not recalling a single detail from such an important moment!

Now all she had was the visual appreciation when he changed shirts at work or to meet sly Angie, or accidently on purpose to spy on him when they return home to his apartment and accidentally on purpose she catches him naked in his bedroom.

If it wasn't for Lucy reasoning with her, she would've tried to continue from where they left off even if nothing crossed just a real kiss.

She turned off the shower valve and dried her body on a towel.

Careful to not wake Janet up, she walked barefoot until her cell phone.

She grinned with Piers' message. A bittersweet grin.

If they could spend the night in "his" room, that meant that Chris will spend the night with somebody else.

She couldn't have Chris but she could have Piers right now. And she missed it. She missed him! She didn't lie when she said that.

He was not her boyfriend - nothing so committed as that. He was more than an occasional fuck, however. She had never quite understood their relationship, and had given up trying. At that moment, the only thing in her mind was how wonderful his cock would feel inside of her.

It had been on her mind, in fact, for awhile as she wasn't used to such a long period of sexual abstinence. And not that she was a horny bitch either, despite the adoration to keep an active sexual life and loving the flirtation game, she was always very selective about the men she'd bed, and she preferred having some fixed one aside from Douglas –as he was horrible in bed- instead of getting laid with every men she ever flirted. The problem now was that she never took so long to go on a haunt to replace the lost fixed "cock".

She still had a hard time accepting his relationship with Merah, but she knew he still longed for her.

She had seen it in his eyes many times when she was close to Chris – despite all his denials. She could comprehend him. He was jealousy but in denial as he preferred to remain rational instead of passionate when they weren't in bed.

The sweet memories of them in bed made her grin and also quickly put on a simple cotton dress and no lingerie.

That was fair enough. Like a chess game.

* * *

 **LVNDR Hotel**

"What are you thinking Handsome?"

He slipped his arms around her and nuzzled her ear, "I'm thinking about taking you and holding you, and kissing you, and making you hot and wet, and sliding deep inside you"

"Oh God" she threaded a hand through his hair and met his lips urgently.

He kissed her with all the hunger and desire he had been holding back for a while. She smelled sweet and tasted sweeter.

His tongue played with hers, his blood thundering through his veins.

His hand found the zip at the back of her dress, and he lowered it enough to be able to slip his hand into her bodice and cup her pale, soft breast.

Eva gasped as he brushed her nipple and turned the velvet tip into a hard peak, and he played with it for a while before lowering his mouth and replacing his fingers with his lips.

She leaned back on the mattress, arching her back, and moaned as he sucked her nipples into his mouth, first one, then the other, then back again.

He savored her in all ways possible. He fucked her with all his accumulated testosterone. They played in several positions her great flexibility allowed until their bodies collapsed drained on the mattress. He curled around her and nestled in spoon until they fell asleep.

 **Flashback**

"What is this? What are we living? A sin? Love?" questioned a naked young brunette with an overwhelmed expression turned to her side

"I don't know…but let's find out…together"

"Sounds like a sin right now. We shouldn't be alone. Or naked. Or even in bed, and much less doing this with our mouths and hands…"

"You taste good…"

She laughed, "You're a naughty boy! Making me do naughty things!"

"If you don't want it anymore we can stop"

"No way! I'm addicted now!"

He laughed, "And so am I…I love when you grab hold of me, tease or taste me…"

"Practice makes perfection and I'm a perfectionist"

"Yes you are…" he replied planting kiss and licks on her neck and the back

She felt delicious shivers running through her body, but she moved her hip aside when she felt his lower member touching her buttocks

"What?" he asked

"Your lower harden parts are too close to my folds"

"Let me just rub outside, imagine how it feels like inside…just the head…"

"It's never just the head!" she said sitting up

He sit up as well and crawled next to her, enlacing his arms around her, "I'm hungry and thirsty…"

"There's water in the bottle on the bedside table"

"That's not what I really want" he whispered on her ear as he travelled his hand to her groin

When they were finished with their oral love making, they lied together. Spooning.

"Apart from all the naughty things we do, I also love cuddling with you"

"Me too, and I wish this moments could last forever"

"It will when we get married and spoon every single day until the rest of our lives"

"When we get married…this sounds such a distant future so far as we stay spooning in secret as if a…"

"Forbidden love…"

"Yes, a our love seems forbidden and I wish one day we won't have to hide anymore and everyone will see how much we love and how strong our love is!"

"Yes, one day everyone will know and I won't worried about the 'forbidden' things we do with our hands and tongues…" he said caressing her buttocks and nibbled her earlobe

She turned to him grinning, "And I almost freaked out in tension fearing they could see any 'alteration' the day they checked my virginity because of a special fisher's hard sucking and tongue's further exploration…"

He grinned with a naughty face pulling her closer to him, "I can't help returning the favor the sweet gypsy I love gives me as we respect the rule of no further penetration…"

She laughed caressing his face with one hand, "I look forward to that day when I will be completely yours…"

"And we will love each other with no restrictions…"

She smiled, "I love you Chris…"

He smiled back, "I love you Kate…" he said leaning closer and kissing her warmly

.

.

.

" _My name is Eva_ "

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

 **Downtown Hotel, Chris and Piers' Room**

" _I'm not in Iove. I do think I have tried. It cost too much. I don't have the money or the time. Cause me to fall apart once or twice. It's worse than lack the beautiful mess. In a perfect world we never came. Oh, we never left. Do you find out what regret is for right before you die? Do you remember what we were? Do you find out what a kiss is right before you die? Just like when you have fallen. I will be there when you rise. In all kinds of weather. I will be there when you rise. It's the most peculiar feeling. I don't know what's coming. After we die._ "

Piers opened the door and smiled. Kate smiled back before pulling him to her and shuttering the door with her foot while they kissed with fervor.

No one in the room was paying attention to Will Dailey singing Rise on the radio.

(*)

He slid down her dress and dropped it off the side of the bed, and leaned in kissing her chest in-between her breasts. She slid her hands up his back feeling his soft warm skin on her fingertips. She rested them on the back of his head as she dropped her head back, her eyes closed.

He began to lick her breasts slowly at first, cautiously before building up gradually until his tongue was flicking back and forth across her erect nipples. As he continued flicking his tongue, she let out the slight moans. He looked up grinning.

She looked down when he stopped and a smile formed on her lips as he slid down her body, kissing her, tasting her shower scent on her skin, and trailing slowly with the tip of his tongue in between bites. As he continued travelling down she closed her eyes enjoying the sensation of the shivers on her skin caused by his teeth, sucking and licks. Her hands grabbed the back of his head, her fingers into his hair as he kissed her stomach, still moving down.

His hands rested on her ass as he moved slowly, kissing her inner thigh. He looked up again, her eyes were closed as her face was furrowed with concentration as she was biting her lips seductively.

He licked his lips as he faced her exposed bare wetness and the intimate piercing she had.

She moved her hips as gentle moans escaped her throat. He began to slide his warm tongue inside of her, gently pushing forward as he kept it rigid as he pushed in slowly.

Moaning, she pushed firmly down with her hands the back of his head, pressing his face into her. It was driving her crazy.

He felt her thighs begin to clamp the sides of his head she moved her hips incessantly.

Unable to bear it any longer, he pulled back and slipped his shirt off, throwing it on the floor.

He aroused her with his lips and tongue, but even though he would have loved to make her come with his mouth, eventually he could take no more.  
He stood and unzipped his pants, "Sorry, I can't wait any longer"

"Don't apologize" she released him from his boxers as he unwrapped a condom, "Why condom? We never used that as you know I can't get pregnant and we're clean from STDs"

"I know, but it's the force of habit…and now that I opened it we'll use it" he lifted her onto the edge of the bed and moved between her legs. Slowly he slid into her.

"What the hell are you so slow now? Just put it all inside!" she complained locking tightly her legs around him and raised her hip up making him impale her abruptly

He looked into her eyes, reveling in the feel of being deep inside her. He'd meant this to be fun, a hot, fast session snatched between dances, but suddenly he wanted to prolong it. He kissed her cheeks, nuzzled her ear as he told her how beautiful she was, how much he enjoyed loving her like this and how much he missed her. He began to move in and out of her as he continued to kiss her.

She kissed him back, unlocking her legs so she could raise them up to his neck level so he could trust more deeply into her, "Fuck me harder and don't stop"

He obeyed to her plead and her breathing had quickened, so he slipped his hand between them and stroked her with his thumb. And as he felt the exquisite throbbing in his groin, she arched her back and tightened more around him. They came together in a glorious cry, and he kissed her again. He stood up to dispose of the condom in the bathroom trashcan and returned to the bed.

* * *

 **Morning, LVNDR Hotel**

Chris opened his eyes quickly as he heard a different voice so close to him.

"My name is Eva, not Kate" the ice blue-eyed blonde replied with a tone of reproof as she stood up from the bed, "I may not be a jealousy person and willing to share you at specific moments, but changing names is a bit too much, don't you think?" she said gathering her scattered clothes

"Sorry…I didn't mean to…" Chris replied embarrassed and confused

"Yeah, that was bad but I know we can't control our dreams and I hope you were with me last night while you were awake and not Kate…"

"I was thinking about you all the time!" he said sitting up

She gasped a little, "Good, that's important info as you told me you were single, but whoever Kate is…and with all the respect in saying but I could see that deep inside you still love her… and the same way I walked away a little when you met Cathy I think is the best to do it again while you solve your situation with Kate doe…"

Chris didn't know what to respond as he still felt embarrassed for mistaking names. And confused for the stupid dream.

Eva sat by his side and placed her hand gently on his shoulder, "No hard feelings on my part"

"I'm glad to hear that, but I'm really sorry that things ended up this way…"

"Yeah, but we had a great night as always!"

"Sure we did!"

"You're a great fuck! That makes easier to forgive you."

He laughed. She was a great fuck too. They still remained friends.

Chris drove back to the hotel and as he passed by entrance door and reached the elevators' hall, he heard an alert of message. Immediately he took his cell phone from his pocket wondering they had permission to return home.

He frowned as he read the message.

* * *

 **Downtown Hotel, Chris and Piers' Room**

Piers didn't want it to end. Ever. But of course it did, and they drifted back down to earth.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her for a while, stroking her back as they awoke in each other's arms. But he couldn't make the moment last forever. Eventually he withdrew.

Kate followed him to shower, but as she stepped in, he hugged her again.

She was confused with their actions, but she enjoyed it. She loved their skin contact and leaned her head on his chest, arms around him.

Shit. How had he gotten himself into this fucking situation? This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid all the long. Every time he felt like he could love her and committing with her, he always felt taken aback for no particular reason.

He wanted her, but at the same time it freaked him out to be so given to her. A part of him just couldn't trust her somehow. A part of him was so into her.

She was the perfect complicated cute thing. Beautiful, but demanding. Bossy, but fun. Kind, but ambitious. Dreamy but mysterious. Passionate, but free.

He always had the sensation she had many secrets, that she was untrue at times.

He cleared his throat as he released her, "We should go have breakfast. Plus, Chris might arrive at any moment"

She made a mischief face. She didn't care if their boss could catch them in shower – payback, "Yeah, just let me shower and make myself presentable"

He chuckled, "You look gorgeous already"

"Yeah, my happy post good fuck face"

He laughed loud.

"By the way, don't you want to join me in the shower or the new you is too sleepy or scared for a condomless session just like in the old times?" she said with a seductive tone

"No tired or scared at all" he said joining her in the shower cabin

* * *

Piers put on his jacket while Kate finished arranging her hair. They straightened their clothes before leaving the room.

As they walked to the elevators hall, he held her hand. He glanced at her as they entered the elevator's cabin.

"Kate..."

She looked at him

"Do you realize now that you have a new place to stay and don't need to stay in Chris' apartment anymore?"

She grinned in surprise, "Are you asking me to move in?"

"Why not? We know for almost two years, we get along in our weird way, we like to …"

"Bang daily! We have to bang daily"

"Yeah, that will be possible if you accept the offer"

"That's a tempting offer, but you know we can bang daily staying even in different houses, right? We can always do that in the office or in the locker room?"

"Yeah, but is that a no?"

Before she could reply the doors opened, and they almost bumped into their superior staring them with a serious expression.

Chris looked up to see Kate and Piers leaving the cabin, and he felt a pinch in his chest seeing their cuddled arms.

Kate noticed Chris' eyes trajectory at their arms

"Good morning" Piers greeted him as they passed by him

"Good morning…" Chris replied with a shadowed tone

"We're going to have breakfast, will you join us?" Piers asked ignoring Chris' estranged and quiet behavior which made him wonder if he was jealousy

"No…"

"Are you alright?" Kate asked hesitant

"No…"

"Why? What happened?"

Chris inhaled and let out a sigh, "Mr. Lionel passed away last night…" he informed them with a saddened tone

"What?" Kate snapped

"I just got the message…"

"This isn't funny Chris. This can't be true!"

"It's not a joke. His assistant just sent me the message…"

"No… You're lying! This can't be true! Mr. Lionel can't die!" Kate said bursting into tears

"Kate, you knew he was in his final days…" Piers said

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" she said pushing him away

"I'm sorry Kate…I really am for giving this sad news…" Chris said touched with her reaction

"No Chris…This can't be true! Mr. Lionel is immortal! He can't die. He has those black pills, right?" she said in sobs

Chris placed his hand on her shoulder in support affected by her devastation. She didn't dodge his touch, in fact, she leaned her face on his chest and cried.

Piers watched groundless the girl he cared too much breaking his heart again as she preferred someone else's comforting embrace, "When is the funeral?" he asked with an unsteady voice

"Tomorrow. At 10AM in the Lake House's property" Chris replied

"No! This is not true! I can't accept this…" Kate said running away to the stairs and heading to her room

Piers and Chris stared at one another and a wave of mixed feelings passed by them.

Friends or Foes in the game of love?

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and Xaori** **for the reviews! :D**

 **First of all I want to say that I hope this chapter was a good one. A tragedy happened when I was finishing the original file, and I clicked wrong and closed it without saving the alterations and I ended up losing everything T_T I was devastated after working on it for several days, picking the write words carefully and all...so in a matter of a second I lost everything T_T**

 **Fortunately I remembered some important parts and how I had written them initially, but you know...Redoing it is never the same. So I want to believe that if that happened is because the new one could be better...I feel like Chris now about such sayings, but in my case is all that is left for me to believe instead of crying for what's lost.**

 **After this confession, now back to the story.  
I never thought I'd bring my special girl Eva (star of Forbidden Love) to this story, but well, I had already casted Yana too, so why not her as well? xD For those who don't know, Yana is also from Forbidden Love and is Eva's (Evana) best friend.  
**

 **And about Christian and Katherine scene, I guess I just realized that their love wasn't so innocent as I initially had thought, but that doesn't mean there was no love, but the contrary, now I see it as their love is pure in all extensions of the word Love. We have seen them tender, kind, passionate, angry...we have seen them feeling it all for each other, good and bad, so it's pure in the sense that when they love, they really love, when they don't they really don't...or something like that. Maybe soulmates, maybe not. I'm still figuring it all out! xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	56. Requiem

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Edonia, Angelina's Home**

"I need to stay alone for a while…"

"I understand. I'll watch out Olivia"

The redhead walked to the veranda in the back of their house and sat on the rocking chair.

She was very saddened but grateful for the good times she spent alongside Mr. Lionel. A close friendship that started soon after she moved to Edonia and travelled for Bohma for its Arts culture.

She exhaled looking at the sky, "I hope you won't be mad or disappointed at me because I…I read the letter before your death… or maybe you already knew this would happen as you used to know things with anticipation… Either ways, I did what I thought would be the best as I followed your advice to let him go for a while when there's still time and relations are not so messy yet as they were in the 18th if this is all true… It wasn't easy, I felt like breaking the rule but… somehow it's what Christopher wanted to do according to that letter of his… and something that Angelique would have done anyways and "leave him to the pretty and nasty girl" according to her secret diary way before she found out she was pregnant with Olly…"

A tear cored down her face. She let out a long sigh, "She just wanted to love him and be loved. Both women did, but Angely was too led on with his promises, too emotional needy, too young… Christopher had the skill to make things look easier, not so complicated…so the opposite now… and that hurts me… I have a part on it when I separated him from her when things were so much easier, simpler! That's why I read the letter…to be sure I wasn't doing the wrong thing again because I need this redemption!"

 **Flashback**

 _I knew she was going to see him again and spend the day with him as the usual. At that point they had Lucy and Peter to cover up to their lies. I knew that because I did follow them until a certain point a few times. I was starting to get tired of listening to her sighs and love confessions. I didn't think she deserved that. He was too good for her. I was tired of just having him in my mind and secret drawings. Kate had even asked me to draw them together so she could have as a memory and so I did. I draw them once walking sided holding hands as they headed to his boat. She was wearing a long white dress and he wore a white cotton shirt and brown trousers. They were ahead of me so I draw them with their back as it was my point of view._

 _I hated that drawing. They were always smiling at each other, but Kate loved the drawing and even showed him. The only reason I didn't rip it was because it was on that day that me and him finally talked more. He greeted me for my talent and even smiled. I was entranced. I could never forget his gaze and perfect smile since them. So I drew more: drawings them, drawings of him alone or me and him together. The latest was a secret._

 _Kate asked if I could make a frontal version of it and I agreed to do so, but I was never able to finish it because a few days later I followed them and had the most grotesque vision of them together. Of my life._

 _They were having intimacy. A forbidden intimacy. They were tasting each other at the same time. I was sick at that._

 _I couldn't believe why she lied about her virginity. What kind of virgin straddles her ass into a man's face and has his tongue into her center? What kind of virgin bends into a man's south? All that before the marriage?_

 _I couldn't understand why the midwife attested Kate was still a virgin as she had her hymen intact. Such a lie! Certainly Kate managed to bribe her somehow._

 _And that day I finally understood what kind of talk Kate and Christian had so much, and how interesting the subject was for her to spend the whole day with him on an almost daily routine._

 _As they say, the curiosity killed the cat. It did kill me! I was so furious._

 _I came back home determined to stop being the accomplice in their sins. I understood the real reason why he "loved" her so much. Men adore playing with whores._

 _And she was a whore in my conception. I couldn't accept having such a type of blood relation and before her sinful reputation ruined my own impeccable reputation, I broke my silence and told our parents Kate was seeing a man._

 **End of Flashback**

"A remorse I have been carrying for lives and now I have finally come to comprehend this deep guilty feeling for no apparent reason that once or another drags me to down waves since I was a child. I never had reason to feel deep guiltiness at such a young age. Then the repetitive dreams started. They didn't make sense as they didn't come in a perfect order. It started with random flashbacks and a puzzle I had to figure for years. i did therapy when I was a teenager which helped little to learn how to control the reactions about the dreams, but it didn't give me the answer I needed to understand it…It got worse when I got pregnant and fortunately some time later I met Mr. Lionel. He was the light I needed and his explanations were what seemed to make the puzzle make sense at last. Of course he went deeper than I expected, but with his kindness and no judgmental personality it made me trust him… and now he's gone and his legacy somehow passed to me as I am the one with the most open mind among the four of us… and that's what I'm doing: trying consciously fix some mistakes from my dark past.  
Because of my jealousy and envy, Kate my sister at the time, was punished…centuries I was punished too as Angelique…both of us shared similar experiences about that as in one of the dreams…"

 **Flashback**

 _Kate managed to run away. It was a huge commotion in the small village we lived in Bohma. Two days had passed since everyone had been looking for her and for Christian. I went to the barn at the tidy space she stayed and found the letter he had sent her and learned the location they were going to meet. However among the hay near the bed she used to sleep, I found what became the root of my remorse._

" _It can't be…"_ _I said holding (…)._

 _That night our lives changed forever._

 _I didn't return home for a long time and I ended up being the one who crossed the bridge for the twins' safety._

 _A few weeks later I met the old couple who found Kate and Christian's bodies and after a huge struggle I visited their graves._

 _The old fisherman told me Christian died due to impalement of a metal stake into his chest that came into the water and Kate died due to blood loss a little while before they took their bodies out of the water._

 _That crashed me…_

 _("...)_

 _The old couple were still there. There was a simple hovel near the lake in the other extremity and for some unknown reason they "gave" it to me (_ _…_ _) to live._ _(…)_ _._

 _That was the first Lake House._

 _I married George but we didn't have children. My life was dedicated for (_ _…)_ _._

 _Unfortunately they kept some resentment of me. We had often disagreements as they grow older._

 _When Christian's father died, they inherited all his patrimony. Henry had a pioneer spirit, but enjoyed life in nature just like Christian did, not to mention the temperamental personality. He often stayed at the cottage where Christian lived and used to meet Kate. He became a famous miner and his descendants later formed the Horvat clan._

 _Melissa had an ambitious spirit and married a wealthy nobleman, she had Kate's beauty and keen brain. Through their family tree were born the descendants that later formed the most influential after the Horvat's and famous clan of Bohma, the O'Gregon._

 **End of Flashback**

"Now I have the chance to repair directly with Chris and Kate themselves. If it's true they are Christian and Katherine souls… I owe that to them. Now it's their call to decide if they will give themselves an opportunity to live their old love or not given the circumstances they left off in the 18th…"

She let out a long sigh as she stood up, "I just wonder if the Reed-O'Gregon twins are the same Greencamp twins…If they are, they had a sad family fate again. The Reed-O'Gregon twins were believe to be the real children of love of Christopher and Katarina…The Greencamp's definitely were fruits of a pure and true love…Either ways…I continue wondering who are the other twins I saw in that vision…"

She looked up inhaling deep, "I hope you continue guiding me from wherever you are Lionel…I'm not a spirit of love like you, but I have good intentions…I hope that counts to stop that cycle you were so worried about…"

* * *

 **Downtown Hotel, Bohma**

Kate returned to the room devastated and ignored Janet's questions of concern.

"Kate, what happened?" the woman insisted as she watched the young brunette sobbing in her bed hugging tightly her pillow

No reply from the young brunette.

Out of sudden, Janet noticed Kate not responding to any reflex and immediately called Chris.

Due to the raw exposed emotions that were too much for Kate to bear, out of protection, her brain shut her mind down for a while.

She was too deep into her pain of separation from the only person that ever understood her. The only person that ever listened to her. The only person that ever cared for her. The only person that didn't abandon her when she most needed in all those years of loneliness…and seclusion.

Kate was just the result of suppressed feelings.

All that exposed frail emotional was what was left of her suppressed past.

Her tears were not hers. The deep mourn weren't completely hers. Her feelings weren't completely all hers.

The real grief was…

(*)

 **Flashback**

That was a cold cloudy morning. The clouds prevented the rays of sun. No birds chirps. No animal sounds. No sounds of the water waves clashing the lakeshore. No sounds of water waves clashing the pier piers.

There was just a lonely old man sitting on a bench contemplating the green lake.

Then just the sound of rusted door opening from behind him.

He turned around and his old figure started to transmute to a younger version.

"Kat…" he greeted the woman in black at the barn's half-open door

She looked serious. Her body language: reluctant. She remained mute.

The young man stood up from the bench and walked over to her. She just observed him; taken aback.

"Let it go…" he whispered taking gently her grip

There was a slight move of muscles of her forehead.

"I cannot…" she whispered back

"You have to let it out"

"I cannot…"

"I know how you feel inside. I've been there before"

"I do not know how…"

"Let go of the armor. You don't need it anymore. You never needed it"

"Yes I did. To fight the monsters! The society! To stand up for myself!"

"Did it work? You were like a volcano ready to explode at any moment. And you did and fell to your own misery. So I tell you again: let it go! It's not taking you anywhere but pain!"

"I cannot!" she said running to inside the barn hugging herself

The man followed her, leaving the door open, "You have to!"

"It does not seem fair now. It does not seem right... coming out of this."

"What do you know about fair or right, Katarina? You're being a coward. Is it fair for Kate continuing suffering for your aching soul? For how long do you intend to continue hiding from yourself? From the outside?"

"That is why I need you and you are abandoning me!" she snapped

"I'm not abandoning you!" he stepped closer to her, "I'm not abandoning you…" he spoke with a tender tone

"I cannot do this without you Lionel…I just cannot!"

"It's the cycle of life…"

"It does not seem the right cycle. Everyone left before me. I spent years secluded, my own misery was my favorite company until you came with a heart full of love…destroying all my barriers, crumbled my walls, embraced my pain, comprehended my flaws, forgave my mistakes, abdicated a good life in family, made me trust you, watched out for me when I went crazy…waited for the four us for centuries, gathering our souls into one path, and now I see you leave before me leaving me all alone again? You?! You who have been waiting for me for so many years abandon me to my own disgrace now that you finally found me?"

"Don't take it so hard and don't take it so bad…"

"How come? I am a failure in person!"

"No one is perfect Kat…not even me"

"No, but you are close to that"

Young Lionel remained in silence for a while watching the woman in black. He knew she was suffering inside and could feel her negative energy of grief, despite her face not demonstrate it.

That was what Katarina O'Gregon's spirit became, a tormented soul with deep suppressed feelings, hang in sorrow, unable to exteriorize them accordingly. She built an armor for her own protection but it ended up becoming her prison. Secluded in her own spiritual battles. Afraid of herself. Her worst judge. A heavy burden her incarnated persona, Kate, was carrying alone. Another volcano about to explode if the right savior would not save her from herself on time.

But that savior was not Chris, or Piers, or Lucy, nor Angelina, and not even himself. That one was herself. The part of her that was waiting outside the barn, waiting at the other extremity of the lake alongside two small lights, Katherine.

However Katarina was too scared to fail badly again and that fear never allowed her to leave the barn, where she spent her last days of life – just like Katherine.

Katarina was the result of Katherine's suppressed feelings, and now the two personas lived separately instead of learning from one another and embracing each other. A burden passed to Kate.

And the others about their own personas.

"I will never abandon you granny. None of you. I only finished my mission before their government found the truth about me and turned me into their guinea pig"

"Christopher and Pierce would never allow that"

"But they're too busy to babysit a 281 years-old man…at least I preferred to believe I was still a man" he said jokingly

Katarina's face didn't show any muscle movement, but inside she found it funny, "I never had doubts I was a woman…or a human being while I took the black pills. I did not learn how to fly, or how to swim, my beautiful polished nails did not turn into deadly claws, much less had light balls coming out from my hands…this new generation have many doubts about themselves or things…"

He laughed. She still had some sense of humor despite her serious demeanor, "Yes they do"

Katarina let out a sigh, "I only have one doubt…"

"Which is?"

"Will I fail badly again? I do not seem to reach Christopher's forgiveness and that tears me apart. Makes me sad and makes Kate do stupid some stupid mistakes she should not be doing"

"You already know your path where you have come from, she doesn't. And that's why she needs you"

"I cannot even help myself how can I help her?"

"How about a team work?"

"I left some diaries that will serve as her guidance, actually I left diaries to everyone so they'll continue having some of my guidance as I'm not there anymore"

"Is that your team work?"

"No… Let's go outside so you can listen to something important someone very special has to tell"

"Who? The Dowser that always stays outside at the corner?"

"No... Katherine"

The woman in black inhaled with a long sigh, "Why go outside? Can't she just come here?"

"Because I like the breeze of the lake"

Katarina rolled her eyes. That was an evolution for someone that didn't allow her emotions to externalize anymore

Lionel smiled, "Today is definitely a day to celebrate. You rolled your eyes but I finally made you show something besides a statue face"

"You know I do not like that lake, right?"

"But Katherine and I love it…and the others too"

"I cannot understand how she can love it when she died in there"

"She got over it"

Katarina was reluctant staring at outside.

"I thought infamous Katarina O'Gregon was a defiant bitch that loved challenges. This is your challenge. Will you cower now?"

"Infamous?"

He smiled, "Sorry, I just wanted to test your reaction again, but don't worry I won't call you that way anymore, and speaking about it, I changed that detail in your biography"

"Thank you. I hope that will help leaving the mud…"

Katarina squeezed her eyes as they left the barn due to the excess of clarity. Her eyes were not used to that anymore. She looked to her left side and saw the Dowser at the corner watching them.

"Something is changing inside you that you don't know" the old woman said in a mysterious way

"What is it?"

The woman didn't respond and only walked in the direction of Katarina's grave.

Katarina watched her in curiosity, controlling the urge to follow her, but before she could do it, she heard old Lionel's voice at distance.

She turned around. Her face demonstrated surprise, despite her paralyzed body, "Kates…" she whispered

Incarnated Katerina visited them in a dream trance, while near the lake house there was Katherine standing wearing a long white dress accompanied by two small lights.

Katerina was frightened seeing the woman in dark figure and held tight on Mr. Lionel's arm. That was the first time Kate was allowed to see her previous counterpart.

Katarina could not believe who those two small lights were. The imposing woman in dark immediately fell to the ground recognizing them and not being able to control the urge to cry.

Her armor was finally broken.

 **End of Flashback**

(*)

Chris and Janet watched Kate, but less concerned as she was actually in a deep sleep.

"Janet, you can return home alone. Piers, Kate and I will only leave tomorrow after our friend's funeral"

"Alright. I'm very sorry for your loss"

"Thanks"

The woman left. Chris remained in the room watching Kate from the armchair at the bottom of the room.

It was just like Christopher had watched Katarina sleeping in prison long ago.

He only stayed there watching her back.

Ah, Chris did have that angle in a dream. Strangely he recalled that in such a moment.

Of course the circumstances now were different, but the positions were similar. The silence was similar. The long dark hair was similar.

He stood up as he noticed Kate awakening and immediately walked over her and sat by the bed corner.

"Kate…"

She was still more to the sleep side, when abruptly she opened her eyes frightened. In panic.

Chris held her, trying to tranquilize her. Kate was again having a bad dream.

"It was just a dream…" he told her with a calm tone as he caressed her arm

"The woman in black…" she said hiding her face between her hands

She was trembling. Her skin was colder. He searched for salt and gave her a small portion as her blood pressure seemed lower. He also gave her a glass of water.

Kate was still restless in bed. Chris intrigued with the "woman in black".

Scared and hugging the pillow tight, Kate cried out her broken emotional.

He hated the feel of powerless when there was a broke woman near him. Touched by Kate's suffering, he laid next to her, trying to comfort her and make her feel she wasn't alone. Spooning.

Tired. Both fell asleep.

* * *

Chris woke up to the sound of the door's card opening the room's door. He lifted his head to see Piers entering. Glancing them.

The men's eyes met and another mix of feelings crossed them.

Definitely not a good vision seeing the girl he had spent the night before lying in another man's arms the next day. Twice in the same day.

Piers sunk in the corrosion in his heart and broke the ice in the room, "I was worried as the hours passed and no news from you or Kate. Janet gave me the room's card and I decided to check on you. How's she doing?"

"Not in her best day" Chris replied moving away slowly to not wake Kate up

"You can stay there. She likes your spoon" Piers said with sarcasm

"I need to use the bathroom" Chris replied heading to the bathroom

"Of course you do…" Piers said in a low tone as he watched the young girl moving in the bed

Kate woke up soon after Chris left the bed, and saw Piers standing staring at her. She looked confused and broken. She was a mess.

"How are you feeling?"

She sat up, "I'm not feeling…" she replied with a husky voice

"That's something…"

"I never lost anyone like this…"

"I thought you lost your parents…"

She coughed, "I meant that I never lost someone like this, someone I barely knew but felt like I knew my entire life… I still can't believe my only is gone… my only friend that never judged me…"

"It sucks losing someone but life goes on…"

"Please respect my pain. If you don't feel anything congratulations, but don't be an ass about my way to deal with my grief"

"I'm sorry, I didn't meant to…"

"You never mean anything Piers, that's your problem"

Okay, old Kate is back. Snapping. That's something.

Chris left the bathroom and glanced Kate, "Are you calmer now?" he asked

"Yes, thank you for the support and concern"

"No problem…It's already night. You should eat something and hydrate. Do you want anything in particular?"

"I'm not hungry…"

"But you have to eat, even just a little"

"I accept the chips now…"

Feeling like the third wheel, Piers left the room and went out for a walk.

* * *

" _Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. We are here to deliver the body of Lionel Horvat Stafford-Hansen O'Reed – Mr. Lionel - to his resting place. We pray to god to deliver his soul and to resolve the deep mysteries he sought so_ _relentlessly_ _to uncover. The kind man that dedicated his life to this country has now found the eternal sleep. His joy shall never be 's pray now for his eternal peace._ _I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die._ "

The coffin of that very old good man was slowly lowered into the ground.

His family, friends, some important figures of Bohma, and his four special friends watched it disappear in the ground's depth from across the grass and earth in the cemetery of the Lake House land, as one of his last wishes.

The call they received from Mr. Lionel's personal assistant on 09/09/2011 changed their routines and lives forever.

Chris, Piers and Kate were already packing when they learned about the old man's death, which postponed their return to the U.S.A., so the three of them accorded in staying for his funeral while Janet returned alone.

Chris and Piers besides the close contact with the old man, also had the same reason to participate of that man's funeral: to ascertain his body wouldn't turn into some bioorganic threat. Which there was a relief. Mr. Lionel died as a normal human.

Piers and Chris felt the sadness of the moment, but didn't demonstrate it with tears as the force of the habit of their training. Losing people was a "habit" they had to get used to. As a matter of fact, they still didn't know how to process it. They knew Lionel's secret – a B.O.W. – and at times it was hard to believe they mourned the death of it, although they knew Mr. Lionel wasn't an evil creature as the ones they were used to fight.

All the ones present were wearing white as another wish Mr. Lionel had as he believed black didn't suit that beautiful landscape and the dark color would internalize more the sadness of that moment that for him didn't mean a final fate, but just a mission accomplished as he from that time on he could take his so deserved rest. So with his departure into the light he would cross, he wanted his "guests" to cherish his crossing as part of the light party as well as the white color spread the light. He wanted his final light to spread among the ones that stayed.

Angelina was in the front row. Tears cored on her delicate face. Her eyes were swollen and red for crying the sadness of losing the closest figure to a grandfather she ever had. Her mentor was gone and now she'd have to figure things out on her own. Holding a white rose, she threw it onto the coffin as the final goodbye to a piece of her. George hugged her in support after she threw the rose in sobs.

Kate, more than the other three or anyone present, and despite the little time she had spent with him, she seemed to feel more the painful loss of her savior. Yes her savior as for some reason she always saw him as figure that had saved somehow. When Chris told her about his death, she had a moment of incredulity; she believed that day would never come as she thought he could be immortal due to the black pill. Devastated, she needed the help of her men to take her there as she was unable to walk on her own and needed a chair to sit, as she refused to not participate of that final moment. She needed to see to believe her savior was gone.

She watched everything but it didn't feel like it was her in there but someone else who had shared her life with that old man. It was a strange thought and feeling she couldn't comprehend. It didn't make sense and there were moments her Kate mind had to take control of her urge to grab some black pills or black powder and throw it on him in the hope it could bring him back. She wasn't ready to let him go. She wasn't ready to live without his advices, and she feared failing horribly –again- as he seemed to be the only one to understand her.

As the coffin disappeared into the dirt, out of sudden Kate felt a dizziness and lost her balance, but Chris had the quick reflex to hold her.

"Kate!" he and Piers called her name as she seemed to be about to lose her conscience

The others watched them in concern as slowly the young brunette seemed to regain the composure.

From among the little crowd, a female figure made her way carrying a glass of water as she walked over the trio.

"Drink it. You'll feel better. It's water" the old woman said with a calm expression

Kate frowned in surprise. Staring her for some seconds she recollected the woman resembled the fortune teller. She didn't know that woman was friends of Mr. Lionel.

Chris stared the woman sharing the same surprise. That middle-aged woman looked familiar, but he couldn't remember right away where he had seen her.

Angelina observed the mysterious woman. She had never seen her before. She watched the other family relative's reaction and they didn't seem to know her either, which got her attention even more. She looked young and that was not a bad indicator as Lionel used to have friends of all ages, but it was strange anyone greeting her or showing they recognized her, not even Lionel's personal assistant, and that detail triggered Angelina's curiosity.

"You okay?" Chris asked Kate

"I don't feel alright, but I'm better"

"We should get going so you can rest in the hotel until we take our flight" Piers suggested

She nodded in agreement.

"You help her, I'm going to say goodbyes to Angie" Chris said

The female touched Chris' arm delicately, "You can go after my speech, will you?" she said politely

Chris felt a slight shock with that woman's touch, "Sure…" he said thoughtful. Such a familiar touch.

The woman requested the guests' attention. She stayed near the flowers bouquets on the ground.

"One minute of silence so we can connect to the energies of this land that is welcoming our dear friend known as Mr. Lionel. May his kindness bless our saddened hearts. May his joy give us the strength to move on. May his legacy of love never be forgotten."

And so everyone obeyed. Some people closed their eyes. Some people remained with their eyes open but focused in the respect for the solemn moment.

Chris stared the woman as she prepared to start her speech.

"Death does not exist anywhere in the Universe. Not even the corpse is dead. By unraveling, it frees billions of tiny shapes that will generate other ways of existing.  
The idea of stop existing is painful for anyone. The physical body disappears for any reason, but the immortal essence continues to exist, even though it always existed and never ceases to exist. In nature nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.  
Every existence has a purpose. The spirit never acts without a purpose. There are a multitude of planes being executed in the universe. Each of us has a plan. We are actors and actresses interpreting the drama of life on the stage of existence. It takes rehearsal, light, camera, action. It is necessary, above all, awareness, attitude, realization.  
Death is not the end, it is the beginning of a new journey, for all of us will one day be called to fulfill new missions, new journeys, in this journey in which we are together, in this heart of light where we hear the silence of the stars.  
If the mortal remains are not found, this is only a detail, for everyone, absolutely everyone will always be present in the hearts of those who have loved them. And so it is.  
Saying goodbye is just a way of saying that I'll miss you until we meet again.  
So love as if there is no tomorrow.  
Forgive and give like it's your last chance. Love as if there is no tomorrow, and if there is tomorrow, love again.  
It is time to go forward, to walk step by step towards our tomorrow, against our future.  
Today is the day when we can change our history, rewrite our life, it is the day of the great change, the great achievement, the day when we can be, do, win.  
Do not leave for tomorrow, be happy today, ask forgiveness today, live today as if there was no tomorrow.  
Let's be grateful for today, for now. And let us love.  
Love was always present in the words of our dear Lionel.  
And finally, I will quote a poem from our Guardian of Love:

' _Love as if there is no tomorrow._

 _No matter how they tease you, punish you, fight with you, love them! No matter what, love. Love them despite different ideas, inexcusable acts, love them. Tell them every day how important they are, not just on the commemorative dates or on departures. Smile at them, for there is no greater prize as a beautiful smile of happiness._

 _Embrace them. Kiss them. Look into their eyes and say, 'I love you.' You who do not know what to give to someone, give love always, let them know that they are important._

 _Learn how to love._

 _Well then, love. Far or near, being the best or worst in the world, love them. If is somebody wrong or somebody right, just love. Because there is only one Today, and unfortunately God did not do it endless.'_ "

The female made a reverence to all and moved away.

Chris didn't leave his eyes off the woman as he squeezed his memory to recall from where he knew her.

She passed by him and stared him back and when their eyes met, Chris felt the shock again recalling she was the mysterious woman from his dream who guarded the barn.

The sudden noise of dirt hitting the top of the coffin momentarily distracted Chris, making him instinctively look at the source of the sound, and by the time he turned to look back at the mysterious figure it was already gone. He visually scanned the area looking for the woman, who seemed to have disappeared without a trace and that too within a matter of few seconds.

He couldn't help but wonder if she was just a figment of his imagination because it was an impossible feat for normal human to just vanish in thin air like that.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin, Xaori and scropion** **for the reviews! :D**

 **Those (...) parts on Angie's scene I removed the content on purpose but will show it later on.**

 **So Mr. Lionel was afraid to become a guinea pig...humm, interesting! That just crossed my mind today, and now I want to know what that means lol**

 **Katarina finally left the shell and bumped into her other counterparts...humm, I wonder what will happen next.**

 **Angie is not such a good girl, after all she broke the rule! What a naughty girl! They say gingers are harder to control, haha lol, I'm kidding. So now it makes more sense why she insisted so much on Chris giving Kate a chance...Angie and her secrets...O.O**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	57. The Pinnacle

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **John F. Kennedy International Airport, USA**

After taking their luggage, Chris separated from the trio to go to the bathroom. Kate was still saddened with the death of Mr. Lionel but more resigned about it. She watched Chris' luggage and took notice of the new extra content he brought from Bohma and tried to keep her curiosity on the matter.

In the meantime Kate and Piers waited sitting on a bench, the long silence between them was finally broken by the young soldier.

"I'm going home. There's nothing else for me to do here…"

"I thought we were waiting for Chris to deliver him his luggage"

"You wait. I go home."

"I thought you had invited me to stay with you…but I was afraid to ask as you haven't really talked to me since Bohma…"

"You already have a place to stay. You don't need me"

"Why are you talking to me like that?" she gasped, "This is why I don't get you! Two days ago we were together and now you push me away…"

"I was waiting for your grief moment diminish so I could tell you my final decision about the invitation"

"You don't want me to stay, I got it"

"No… you didn't want to come…you already have a place to stay but I was blind to see it…to accept your choice"

"What are you talking about? I didn't even have time to give you an answer! All the crap came in a row…I'm still processing things but I was too saddened to think straight about everything…"

"Kate… I don't want to argue with you anymore"

"I'm not arguing! I'm just explaining my emotional side…but you tend to ignore it and make me feel bad for…"

"I know about your sadness, your grief. I understand that"

"You don't"

"I do! And the same way you claim I don't understand your side, I can tell you the same about mine"

"So say it. I'm not a mind reader!" she said crossing her arms

"It's simple. You made your choice and I will respect that. It hurt when you pushed me away and ran to his arms, and then I found you in bed… he couldn't even disguise it. So in that moment when I saw you and he stared me back I realized I should take my troop off the field"

"It's not what you think"

"Yeah, you both keep saying that a lot"

"It's the truth"

"It's weird. He's very touchy"

"He supports me because he understands me"

"Or maybe he's interested in you"

She smirked, "You're jealous"

"I am, but…"

They stopped talking when they noticed Chris coming closer to them.

"Well, now I should get going. I'm tired and we see at work" Piers said after clearing his throat

Kate didn't say a word. Chris said goodbyes to him and then turned to face Kate.

"I thought you'd go with him"

"Why?"

"I thought you were back together…"

"It's finally over, so let's just go home if our deal is still up?"

"It is up"

She only gave a quick smile and then the pair headed to Chris' apartment.

* * *

 **Chris' Apartment, Following Morning**

Kate opened her bedroom's door to head to the bathroom in the hallway, and smelt the scent of coffee. She looked to the side at Chris' bedroom and noticed he was already up. She looked to kitchen side and heard noises coming from there. Wondering it was Chris, she headed to the bathroom to do her personal morning chores.

About 10 minutes later, the young brunette left the bathroom and had a light scare when she saw a blonde girl coming out of Chris' bedroom.

Both women had the same expression.

"Who are you?" Kate asked almost frowning imagining another scenario about the owner of the apartment's previous night

"My name is Eliza. You?" the blonde replied calmly as she observed the brunette before her wearing a sexy and short silk red night dress

"I'm Katerina. Where's Chris?" the brunette said almost in an imposing way

"Chris went to do his morning exercises…"

"And what are you doing here?"

The blonde girl noticed the brunette's evident defensive tone and questioning, but kept her thoughts to herself and only tried to assure the woman standing before her that she was no threat to them, "I clean this place once a week because my mother cannot do it anymore. She worked for Chris for several years and to return all the good things he did for us, I continue her work"

Kate continued staring the blonde. She could be Chris' type as per his fame with younger girls. She was blonde and beautiful, thin but not flat. They had the same height. The blonde wore a skinny black capri pants and sleeveless yellow cotton top.

Eliza could feel Kate's studying eyes on her, which made her slightly uncomfortable, "I made the breakfast: coffee and toasts. Would you like something else?" she asked politely to ease the jealousy of the new girlfriend of Chris'

Kate's defensiveness was broken with that question. That wasn't a usual treatment she used to receive as she usually was the one in the serving role.

That moment they heard a click noise on the door and soon after Chris opened the door, and entered the place catching the sight of the girls talking in the hallway.

"Good morning girls"

"Good morning Chris" Eliza replied friendly

"Good morning" Kate replied with a more contended tone

"I can see you two have met already, so I don't need to introduce you, right?"

"No, it's not necessary. I told Katerina that I only clean your place and I just made breakfast. May I put the table?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to take a very quick shower and I'll be right back"

Kate observed them only following with her eyes, when Chris passed by her and she could smell the scent of sweat coming from him, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, like a baby…"

"I noticed it, but are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am." She replied with a soft smile

Now that was the turn for Eliza watch the pair. She noticed Chris' softer tone talking to the beautiful sexy brunette. He only had that tone when he really cared for someone. She didn't watch them for too long and soon after she headed to the kitchen.

While Eliza did the cleaning, Chris and Kate were having breakfast in the dining table.

Kate noticed the large cardboards near the couch, feeding her curiosity. Her chain of attention was interrupted by Chris' sudden voice.

"Oh, by the way I forgot to tell you. One of those cardboards is for you"

"Me?" she frowned surprised

"Yeah. It's a gift"

She smiled. She was flattered in received so many gifts lately, "I don't know what it is, but thank you…" she said smiling graciously

"It's not from me"

"Isn't it?"

"Nope"

"Who's it from?" she asked in curiosity

"Angie's"

She grinned her teeth discreetly, struggling to keep a nicer composure at the mention of that name, "Why would she gift me?" she asked with a serious voice tone

"Because she wanted to…"

"Weird…"

"It's not"

"It is. You don't give gifts to someone you don't really know, unless is charity…"

Chris gasped, "Angie has a good heart and is very intuitive. She said she had an intuition to give it to us. Mine is considered a belated birthday present and yours…"

"The charity" she said with sarcasm

"No charity. I'm just telling you what she told me, but if you don't want it, I will keep it as it's part of my own gift…" he shrugged returning her level

She gasped, "I'm not saying I won't accept it. That would be rude to decline such a generous act…I just wanted to understand things…" she eased her level and forced a friendly smile

Chris took a bite of his toast, ignoring her.

Kate could sense the uncomfortable atmosphere in the air. She hated that. Although Angelina would always be a sensitive subject to her, she knew she'd have to be more controlled about her free antipathy for the redhead as she needed him and couldn't stand his ignorance that reminded her of how things were when they met. His rock.

She stood up from the chair and walked over the cardboards, "Which one is mine?" she asked in a low tone

Chris looked at her, "I don't know, I have to open it up" he replied leaving his chair

"Okay…and what do you mean that my gift is part of your birthday gift?" she tried to look nice

He chuckled, "I just said it because Angie told me my gift could be taken as a birthday gift, but your gift is like a continuation of my own…whatever that means"

"So let's find out what that means" she grinned

Chris gave a nod and unwrapped the cardboard which happened to be Kate's gift.

She opened her mouth in shock. Their hearts raced. A strange sensation cored through her body making her tremble when her eyes laid on the painting of a couple walking above the water. In the background there was a forest. The brunette woman wearing a long white dress with a red ribbon at her waist level was at the left side of the brunette man. She wore a necklace with a green gem. They held hands smiling at each other. Each carrying a small wrapped blanket.

Chris unwrapped his painting to show to Kate the back version of her own gift. Now he understood Angie's explanation.

Kate sat on the couch observing the details of her painting. Astonished. Was it a coincidence? That couple seemed the ones she used to dream about, although she had never seen them carrying anything.

Chris sat at her right side showing her his painting.

Kate observed the details. A forest at the right corner and a small wooden hovel at the shore. And a small boat.

Such a familiar scenery.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Chris commented

She nodded in silence.

"I don't know about you, but it brings me nostalgia…"

Kate couldn't help her teary eyes as she kept staring her painting, "It makes me sad…" she whispered

"Why?"

"Because there's love in their expressions and it's implicit they're carrying babies, fruits of their love…something I'll never have…" she said with a hoarse as a tear cored down her face making her wipe it

Chris didn't know how to react as he watched her sadness. Kate was a very sensitive girl, especially about children – motherhood.

"I don't know if your friend is a psychic or if you told her about my miserable condition nor why she preferred to give me this version that serves to torture me…"

"I'm sure she didn't have any bad intention towards you…"

"Of course you will defend her…you have feelings for her"

"I'm not defending her because of my feelings!"

"No? so how the hell did she choose to give me the twins version?"

"You can't know it's twins…"

"It's pretty obvious Chris! They're holding babies!" she stood up upset leaving the painting aside, "Did you tell her about my condition?"

Chris swallowed staring her, quickly recalling the moment he told Angelina when she insisted on him to give a chance to Kate and have children with her.

His silence was his confirmation, which made Kate even more upset, "I can't believe you did this! You told her!"

"I didn't mean to…"

"But you did! You made her make fun of me!"

"She didn't make fun of you"

"Shut up!" she shouted angered, "You opened your stupid mouth to that b… - sly that didn't have the guts to face me and give it to me personally her Trojan gift! She must be laughing at me!" she said with her hands on her waist

"Kate! Please, it's not like that!" he said standing up

"Give me her number!" she said staring him with a serious gaze

"What?" he frowned

"She doesn't have the guts, but I do! Now I know why you conveniently forgot to give it back in Bohma, but distance is not a problem for me so I'll tell her what she needs to listen!"

"You won't call her!"

"Yes I will! I'm not a chicken like her. I won't let her laugh at me for my condition!"

"She never laughed at you. If you have to be angry at someone, be at me! I was the one who made the inconvenient comment. My mistake"

She smirked and stared him deep in the eyes, "Did you tell her to paint this?"

Suddenly they heard a loud noise and Eliza scream.

"Eliza!" Chris said in concerned as he ran to see her in his bedroom

Kate even still upset, followed him.

"Liz, are you alright?" he asked checking on her

"Yes, I just lost my balance and fell off the stool when I was cleaning the shelf …"

Kate noticed the injury on the girl's knee, "You should put ice on your knee"

"No, I'm fine…it was just a hit. Nothing serious"

"You will put ice on it!" Kate said with an imposing tone and immediately headed to the kitchen to get ice from the freezer

Chris helped the blonde girl to walk until his armchair as she had some difficult due to the recent injury.

Soon after Kate returned with a bag with ice and delivered it to the blonde who thanked her.

That was the first time she entered his bedroom. She looked around briefly and went to gather the contents that fell off the shelf, some of Chris' trophies.

Kate, most due to her cleaning OCD, started arranging it.

"Don't do that Kate, I don't want another accident"

"Don't worry about me"

Chris and Eliza exchanged gazes and remained in silence until Kate left the bedroom.

Eliza looked down at the ice. Katerina's behavior was no surprise for her, much the contrary, it sounded familiar. Somehow she could understand the brunette in whatever made her shout. Since the moment her eyes laid on the brunette, she felt something different. A weird sensation. As if she had met her before. The same happened when she first met Chris when she used to accompany her mother to help her clean his apartment. Those sensations were things she never told anyone and obviously she wouldn't say it now.

"You heard us, right?" Chris broke the silence. Embarrassment could be sensed in his tone.

She nodded in confirmation, "Parts of it…"

"I'm sorry for that"

"No problem. I know that happens"

"I hate that kind of drama"

"I know you do, but I don't really intend to come between you, plus I just met her."

Chris let out a frustrated sigh, "I asked her, actually I kind of insisted on her to live here, but now…I'm not sure if I did the right thing…or for how long I can take that…"

"Relationships are complicated…they're never perfect and she's seems a jealousy one…"

"We're not in a relationship…not in a romantic relationship. She's just my 'roommate'…my secretary at work"

Eliza made a surprised face. They didn't act like just a "boss-employee" at all. Not to mention the argument they just had. It seemed too personal and nothing professional. Once again she kept her thoughts to herself.

"You don't believe, right?"

She made a face confirming it.

"No one does…and I'm starting to doubt it as well…"

"You have a good heart Chris. Not everyone can see that and they tend to see things with other eyes things that are not so usual…"

"It's not because of my good intentions, I'm very sure about it, but…"

"But?" she asked as he left in hang

"But for what already happened between us…"

"Oh…did you sleep together?"

"Yeah…well, kind of…"

"Kind of?"

"It's complicated…"

"Yeah, sex complicates things…"

"It does…I try to ignore it but in moments like this…I'm reminded that the line has been crossed and I have no idea where this is leading to. Or what we have…relationship or not…it's a crazy thing and I don't seem to be able to get out of it"

"And do you want to get out of it?"

He scratched his head, "I don't know…I don't know what I'm feeling…or living…all I know it started with me helping her because she had no one else, and then things got us involved in a way I don't know how to stop, or what to do, especially when "everyone" sees us as a couple"

"Maybe she's your karma…"

He chuckled, "What? My karma?"

"Yeah"

"Meaning this is a bad thing?"

She shook her head, "Not necessarily. Karma can be good too. It depends on how you deal with it"

He laughed incredulous, "This is crazy and maybe bullshit. One tells me there's a conspiracy of the universe, you tell me it's karma…they don't seem logical explanations"

"So what stops you to get out of that?"

"I don't want to let her down… I know how it feels like to be left alone and have no one else to count on…feel groundless"

"So she's lonely like you. You can make company to each other, and that's what you're already doing and there's nothing wrong about it"

"It needs a definition"

"Only you can do that, but you have to stop running away…and I'm sorry for my sincerity. I shouldn't be giving my opinion…"

"No, it's alright. I appreciate your sincerity… you're the only one I have to talk like that…you know me for a good while, you know my routine. You can see better for being outside"

"I can't say much Chris, I just met her."

"But you nailed when you said she seems the jealousy type. You're not the first that tells me that. Did she get jealous of you?"

"Yeah…I noticed some of her expressions when she saw me leaving your bedroom"

"Did she tell you something?"

"No. She kept her composure of suspicion, despite putting me into a questioning, but as I had thought she was your girlfriend I tried to keep her reassured that I'm not a threat to you"

"And what did she say?"

"We didn't talk. I offered her the breakfast and then you arrived"

"Oh I see…"

"You know…she seems to be cool, besides beautiful. If she were the nasty type she wouldn't have cared for my injury. So that detail tells something about her"

"That she cares too much"

"Just like you"

He laughed, "What?"

"Come on, admit it. You do care about people, in your weird way but you do…and I'm sure you two have other things in common that made you shelter her"

"So are you telling me to give her a chance?" he said keeping in mind Angie's words as well

"No. I tell you to give yourself a chance. As you said, I know your lonely routine. I used to make you company on the breakfasts until you met Cathy. I could see the change on you. You seemed happier for being in a relationship and having a more normal life. Honestly you deserve it. You cannot just breath bioterrorism. You can do other things too. Go out on weekends or hang out with friends. Go on trips. Date."

"You sounded like my sister"

"And she's right. She knows your routine too and after what she went through earlier the year, she has all the reason to tell you to live…have a life besides work"

He grinned, "Thanks for not telling me to date Kate or I'd start believing there is a universe conspiracy" he said with sarcasm

She laughed, "About her… and about what I heard. If you want my advice…"

"I do want your advice"

"I know the truth is sacred but sometimes a white lie can prevent further unnecessary drama, so if I were you, I'd tell her you asked the other one to make the paintings…but that there wasn't any bad intention…make something out, but tell her you asked it otherwise she seems to have a volatile personality like you and she is the determined type that won't forget a fight and will stick to it till the very end, and as a woman I know she won't forget it as it hit her biggest weak spot"

"Tell me about it! I used to see her determination with good eyes but now I don't see it that much…"

"I understand, or I have a better idea… you can give the number to her but you get in contact with the other person first and tell her what happened"

"Yeah, I prefer this option. I prefer telling Angie a tsunami will hit her but at least she will have time to take some preventing measures"

* * *

Kate was in her bedroom sitting on an armchair. She was still pissed and Angelina the sly. At Chris the moron. Why did he tell the sly such an intimate detail about her? Was he dumb enough to not realize that condition of hers hurt her immensely? What the sly had to do with her bad condition? Probably laugh at her as she could bear children. She was a complete woman that could give –him- children. That hurt her to the core. Why was she born like that? Broken and broke?

The minutes – eternal minutes – were passing. Chris was still in the bedroom with Eliza. Was the blonde his "relief" too? Why did he treat her like that? She couldn't understand. One minute he was all a good company to her and then he just raised a wall between them. Why did he play with her like that? Wasn't she good enough for him?

She stood up from the armchair to check on them discreetly. Why were they taking so long?

She turned around to take her belongings from the luggage and the first thing she saw was the letter Mr. Lionel had left for her.

She wasn't really ready to read it as she recalled their conversations, but at that moment she needed to know what his last words were for her.

Inhaling deeply, she opened the letter and the first line she read "Watch out for your jealousy"

She chuckled with that title.

She was about to continue reading it when she heard a message alert on her cell phone. Immediately she grabbed it and her eyes widened when she saw the unknown number.

"Hello Pretty Girl"

Only one person that called her like that, Dennis Fleury.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and scropion** **for the reviews! :D**


	58. Reknow

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _It is amazing how jealousy, that spends time making false assumptions, has little imagination when it comes to discovering the truth._

 _Nevertheless_

 _It is impossible to express the disturbance jealousy causes to a heart in which love has not yet been declared._ ".

.

.

.

 **Flashback**

"Kat?" said the old man kneeling next to the unconscious woman in black who slowly regained her conscious

"Lionel?" she replied sitting up

"How are you feeling?"

"I am angry! That moron is playing with me!"

"Calm down. You know that isn't true. You're just jealous and I've kept telling you to watch out for that trait of yours"

"I cannot help it! You know how much I love motherhood and he told her my biggest pain! I do not know where I had my mind when I accepted this challenge before reincarnating! I will not make it as I am failing badly again!"

"You're a strong woman, you will make it. Remember the other clause for your achievement."

"It is so hard Lionel! You know the twins are my greatest remorse. When I finally got our children made of love…I let them down! They never forgave me, and I do not seem to be capable of forgiving myself either"

"They will forgive you, but you do know you need the forgiveness of others, remember?"

"I am not ready for that."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I told you to let Katherine come"

"What does she know? How can she help me?"

"Listen to her. They're waiting at the house"

"They?"

The scenery suddenly changed and they seemed to be teleported to inside the Lake House.

Katarina looked around. Lionel had said "they" were there, but she only saw the woman in a white dress, Katherine, sitting on the couch staring her with a calm expression.

"Where are the others?" Katarina asked

"You still can't see them, but they are always around the land, but usually at the lake shore."

"Where you chose to die"

"I thought I had lost everything. That there was no meaning for me to be strong. I believed I couldn't make it without the love of my life as I thought I had lost 'them' as well… it hurts me to see what you have done to yourself –myself- and the others…you became the shadow of my bad choice. Suicide is never a good choice when we face eternity and realize the pain and suffering are not gone…and you're doing the same mistake I did…"

"What do you know Katherine? What do you know? While you were tasting the sweetness of spring season with Chris, I fought with storms! I was alone in the most difficult times of my life! No one was by my side!"

"You didn't have to be alone, you could have embraced your children. You could have walked along with them. But you, you chose wrong. You loved the poison of power and power poisoned you. That poison poisoned you and made your eyes blind. And you were left neither with your conscience, not your mercy nor your innocence"

"Innocence…" Katarina smirked

"Your real power, your armor, your weapon was this – you were the apple of your mother's eye! Your father's one and only, your sisters' soul, the people's hope! You were an almond tree, with fresh flowers that had seen no storm! A calm sea with no waves, and now? Now you are a tyrant. You became a murderer"

"No… I did not become one…I did not…"

"Yes you have. You have become a murderer of your own sister!"

"Shut up!"

"A murderer of your own sister!"

"SHUT UP!"

"I won't shut up! I have done it for a long time!"

"I knew it was a mistake listening to you!" Katarina said trying to walk away

"Upon Chris' last breath, you made him a promise. Is this how you took care of that which was entrusted to you?"

"I did not want it to turn out this way!"

"True, you only wanted to protect yourself. This was the only way – for you to become powerful. But that thing you call power, has ruined their lives…you killed innocent people!"

"Angelique wanted what was mine! She always wanted what was mine since she was Angeline! Christian died because of her! My children died because of her!"

That moment Katherine stared the woman in black with pitiful eyes. Centuries had passed and she still didn't know the truth, "You are so wrong…"

"Am I?"

"You so are…"

"My love died because of her. My twins died because of her…I died because of her! She took all I wanted and loved. She took life from me! My children were innocent too! I was angry and jealousy, I admit it…but she got what she deserved. I was keeping that anger for many years but what you postponed to do when you chose to die, I did it when I finally met her. My mistake was doing it after having my twins!"

"You really don't know it…"

"Do not know what?"

"The twins"

"What about them?"

Katherine looked at Lionel who was standing near the door. He could her mind and gave her a nod of permission to reveal the truth to that tormented soul. It was about time for her to deal with the consequences of her actions and hopefully put an end in that dark cycle so her regret could really be real.

"They didn't die…"

Katarina widened her eyes astonished, "You are lying!"

Out of sudden the Guardian of Fate appeared in the living room with a serious expression, "It's the truth. I myself saw them regaining life. I was your midwife, don't you recognize me?"

"You…"

"Don't be angry at me. I don't fear your fury. You chose to die when you chose to go after him instead of burying your children. If you had stayed a little longer, you would've had witnessed they regaining life."

"Christian and I were desperate and being chased. The four of us would be killed!"

"Only him would die protecting you. That was his life plan that time."

Katarina's eyes filled with water. Her rock was finally breaking"

"You knew you were still bleeding and needed to rest after a double labor, but your attachment to him made you choose wrong. Your attachment to him was stronger than the importance to bury your children if they had really died, but this is what you need to see. You have to learn to let go of him! Real love is not possession. It's not toxic. Nor deadly. Fortunately your sister Angeline regretted on time her mistake and went after you. She proved to be braver than you and raised the twins for you! She broke family ties for you! For the twins' safety. She embraced them with love and the wheel of life provided her all the resources for her to succeed raising your children! That's why you're so jealous of her. She can be better than you. Better for your children. Better for the man you say you love! But one thing darling you have to understand, love is not a competition. If you want to be better, be better than you were. Not better than others because if you continue that way, you'll find others way better than you. Humility is a sacred virtue, why don't you try that one? She does. Maybe that's why he prefers her than you…"

Katarina sat on the ground, humiliated. The awful truth hit her. She had too much to sink in.

"Okay ladies, that's enough. She already understood your message." Lionel said coming between them and kneeling next to Katarina who was perplexed. He took her into a warm embrace. She was motionless.

He looked up at his partner, "Dang, why are you always so harsh on people? Can't you be softer?"

"I tell them what they need to hear. How they deal with it is their issue. The softer part is you and before I leave, I want to say that I don't mean to mean, but sometimes people need to listen to harsh things so they can finally shake and change. But I hope you change for the better. I want you and all to succeed."

"That is the max of softness you'll get from her…" Lionel said jokingly

"Now ladies, you two should work together. There is nothing else separating you. You both know your body has returned and you got a new chance to be better. To love better. To love more. So be wise in your choices and reactions. No need to compete with one another"

Katarina's fortress was defeated.

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

" _Ghosts exist for a reason: So you do not make the same mistake twice._ ".

.

.

.

 **Chris' Apartment**

Eliza had left. The apartment was silent reminding him the old routine he lived for years, though he knew he wasn't alone. Kate was locked in her bedroom probably ruminating the consequences of their argument.

Despite the reason that ignited it was not a petty thing as it was a very sensitive topic for the brunette, her reaction seemed quite exaggerated as she only based it on wrong assumptions.

He knew it. He knew Angelina would never have the intention to hurt anyone – right?

Either ways the volcano exploded the first spit of magma and he felt he needed to do something to prevent further unnecessary drama.

He didn't want his girls to get hurt in a stupid fight.

Aware of Kate's position in the matter, he knew that it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Back to his bedroom he took his phone and opened the chat app and for his disappointment Angelina wasn't online. He reflected. He thought on how he would tell her that Kate didn't receive well her gift – as she seemed to have predicted.

"Hey Angie, how are you? I'm already home…I wish you were online…There's something I need to talk to you…about Kate…and your gift… She didn't take it so well as you know she can't have children and she misinterpreted that you were insulting her condition by reminding her inability to have children with the twins the couple was carrying. Is there any chance you mistook the paintings? Why did you draw exactly twins? And I don't know if she really meant it, but she said she wants to 'talk' to you, but I should tell you that she might want to argue with you because we already argued here…I'm sorry for that situation."

He clicked the enter button and sent the message.

Then he opened his social network, something he didn't do so often. He strolled down the timeline and only the most relevant posts shared by his friends showed up. A muscle of his cheek moved when he saw his picture along Kate and the caption "Not always we meet people that want the best for us. Not always we are believed. Not always the angels have wings. Not always we get to meet out guardian angels, but I was lucky and got all that in one person. This guy…PS: before anyone say crap, he's just my boss and has being the only one that believed in my potential to grow in my career"

He grinned as he kept staring their picture as he recalled the moments of that day at the festival. He recalled her contagious happiness. Her gypsy spirit so free dancing to the local music among the crowd. She who used to keep a well composed demeanor seemed to have become someone else that night. Someone that got his attention – even before the beer.

He recalled she was taking pictures to register that night just like a super excited tourist. They were still sober when they took that picture. The only picture they took together.

He clicked to enter the album and saw the other pictures she had taken. Bohma was certainly a beautiful medieval-like with modern touch place.

Then, overtaken by the curiosity, he clicked the other album that had pictures of her and selfies. She was a really photogenic girl, someone beautiful to look at. She loved the red color, and black. Both colors suited her skin color, actually any color suited her.

He was mesmerized when he saw an old picture of her wearing a green Brazilian style bikini and the caption: "I love green too"

That was the only picture she had really exposed more herself. She looked younger, but she already had the right curves. Curves he enjoyed for a while that fatidic night he struggled to not remember.

He didn't want to forget their moment of flames when he learned she was not only an expert in keeping his office and paper work nailed, she was also an expert using her hands and mouth. He so recalled how amazingly lost he felt when he disappeared into her throat. Not all women had that proficiency to devour the all of him.

He wanted to forget the bad feelings that made him stop.

He was a man, recalling an erotic moment was inevitable for him.

And Kate was a sexual being just like him. He knew it. In fact he had heard it one late night before they went to Bohma. It was already dawn when he woke up to drink a glass of water in the kitchen. Nights are silent so it can happen to one listen to a water drop noise. So it wouldn't be impossible to hear moans even if contended ones.

As a matter of fact she had already complained of not being so active – blaming him or wanting him? – now that he thought about it, was there a chance she was giving him indirect message and he didn't catch it up? He knew she never hid the curiosity to know details about their incomplete foreplay.

He envied Piers. He had her several times, and very recently. He finished the job he didn't. he grinned his teeth and frowned.

Wait a minute, what in the hell was he thinking about sex with Kate when they just had an important fight? They had that pendency to be solved before going to intercourse, right?

He closed the album session and returned to his timeline. He saw Kate had just posted a phrase: "Sometimes the heaven is the hell itself"

She was still upset.

He felt affected. He had just read that friendly declaration on their picture and now she updated her mood.

Blame on him for sure this time. He screwed up. He spoke something he shouldn't. And to someone he probably couldn't.

Despite having met Angelina first, he was on the way to do Kate first.

Now he thought to think better about the events. There was reason for Kate to be jealous. Just like he was at Piers or any other guy that could do her before him. Their difference was that he hid it better.

He or they ignited that flame. A flame that was on hold due to his own confusion. Why was he having such a troubled time to bang a girl? It shouldn't be so complicated! Love is complicated. Not sex.

Probably Kate had the same feeling as he did. Incomplete job. They were doing other people while they – wanted – or could be doing each other. The line had already being crossed, right?

But now he'd have to solve her anger and then see what happens next as after all that realization, surely will be hard not to bang the panties free girl he was living with.

She was right, they were living the hell.

He wanted the heaven back.

It was about time to stop living the fear and start making good memories.

* * *

 **Edonia, Night**

Angelina let out a heavy sigh when she read Chris' message. She was concerned. She never had the intention to insult Kate's limitation. She now felt bad Kate had interpreted it that way. Now she questioned if she was right following her intuition. Once again she took Lionel's letter searching for some guidance.

 **Flashback**

 _Kate managed to run away. It was a huge commotion in the small village we lived in Bohma. Two days had passed since everyone had been looking for her and for Christian. I went to the barn at the tidy space she stayed and found the letter he had sent her and learned the location they were going to meet. However among the hay near the bed she used to sleep, I found what became the root of my remorse._

" _It can't be…"_ _I said holding two tiny pieces of clothes Kate had knitted and a wave of memories invaded my head of some weird behavior Kate used to have. The real reason why she chose to remain in the barn even after her punishment was over. The different gaze she had. The subtle change on her face. The reason why she went out of the barn to collect food or fruits in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping. The reason why she was always sitting when anyone visited her in some rare occasions and always holding something on her lap._

 _I still couldn't believe how she managed to hide it from everyone all those months!_

 _Somehow I was admired for that. She had always been a smart person and with a keen strategic brain._

" _I have to find them before everyone!" I said hurrying to my horse even knowing a bad weather was forming._

 _But I was too late. I hid at a hovel due to the sudden heavy rain near the location they had headed to escape to the Hope Bridge. In there I found an old woman that I thought was a midwife as I saw her holding two small wrapped blankets._

" _They were born apparently dead as it was too soon, but somehow they gained life. I tried to tell their parents but they were in a hurry to escape the chase"_

" _Where their parents?"_

 _The woman looked down with a saddened expression, "Dead…"_

" _What?"_

" _I saw the moment the wave caught them…"_

 _I busted into tears and hurried to grab hold of the newborn twins. My nephew and daughter. I embraced them mentally asking for their forgiveness…_

" _Those kids are brave. They're still fighting for their lives…it will be a miracle if they survive tonight or the next days…"_

 _If there wasn't for my stupid mouth they were still be together…as a family._

 _I suffered for the thought that Kate and Christian died believing their children were dead. I suffered for knowing those two little innocent souls would grow without the love of their parents if they survived. I suffered for knowing if our parents ever learned about the twins, inevitably they'd be sent for adoption as they were still too angry at Kate._

 _I couldn't let that happen._

 _So my only option was to keep my mouth shut. Completely sealed this time in a sort of way to repair a little the damage for speaking too much._

 _I dressed them with the little clothes their mother made for them in way to make them feel her love for them through it because I knew she knitted it with all the love she had as she even learned how to knit._

 _That night our lives changed forever._

 _I didn't return home for a long time and I ended up being the one who crossed the bridge for the twins' safety._

 _A few weeks later I met the old couple who found Kate and Christian's bodies and after a huge struggle I visited their graves._

 _The old fisherman told me Christian died due to impalement of a metal stake into his chest that came into the water and Kate died due to blood loss a little while before they took their bodies out of the water._

 _That crashed me…_

" _I brought flowers to you. Your favorite one… My sister… I hope you forgive me wherever you are and I will understand if you won't. You have the right. I was a bad sister, but I promise you I won't be a bad aunt. Your children are safe, they're gaining weight. They're so brave! You'd be so proud of them! I named them Melissa and Henry. I remember when we were children you saying those would be the names for a boy and a girl...it's like you always knew you'd have one of each._

 _And Christian…your father is a great man! He stood up against my parents and he registered the twins with the Greencamp surname. I didn't know you much, but I'm sorry for being so stupid!_

 _I took your dreams of a family from you, from the twins…"_

 _I raised twins with the help of Lucy, Peter, George who was the one awaiting for Christian and Kate, and Christian's father who became the most proud grandfather and never allowed the twins to go through material necessities. He was a good man and all his fortune was passed to the twins when he died._

 _I never hid the truth from them. I preferred them to decide what they would think of me and about their story._

 _When they were 8 years old they insisted on visiting their parents' grave I often visited to pray for them._

 _The old couple were still there. There was a simple hovel near the lake in the other extremity and for some unknown reason they "gave" it to me (_ _and for the twins_ _) to live._ _I accepted it as a way for my sister and Christian to stay closer to their children and vice versa_ _._

 _That was the first Lake House._

 _I married George but we didn't have children. My life was dedicated for_ _the twins_ _._

 _Unfortunately they kept some resentment of me. We had often disagreements as they grow older._

 _When Christian's father died, they inherited all his patrimony. Henry had a pioneer spirit, but enjoyed life in nature just like Christian did, not to mention the temperamental personality. He often stayed at the cottage where Christian lived and used to meet Kate. He became a famous miner and his descendants later formed the Horvat clan._

 _Melissa had an ambitious spirit and married a wealthy nobleman, she had Kate's beauty and keen brain. Through their family tree were born the descendants that later formed the most influential after the Horvat's and famous clan of Bohma, the O'Gregon._

 **End of Flashback**

Angelina inhaled deeply and started to reply to Chris, "About your questions, I didn't mistake the paintings, but I never had the intention to insult her condition. It never crossed my mind…and about the twins, I never really realized it could be twins until now that you mentioned it. I'm sorry for causing such trouble to you and tell her I want to talk to her as well".

* * *

 **Chris' Apartment, United States**

Kate woke up from her nap, a long nap, feeling tired. Numb. The woman in black and the woman in white again.

The woman in white was so similar to the one in the painting Angelina made for her. A coincidence? Angie the sly psychic?

For some reason she felt like stopping calling her sly so freely – even if mentally. She barely knew her. It was wrong misjudging someone she didn't know.

In addition she had another main concern to handle: the Fleury's.

After reading Dennis' message she felt a sudden sleep and now awaken again, she read he had sent more messages. Threatening messages. She didn't want him to expose her secret but she didn't know how to shut him up – not yet.

She stood up from the bed and headed to the door. As she opened it she could smell the scent of food. Chris had cooked dinner. As matter of fact, he was eating on the dining table.

Their estranged gazes met.

"I made pasta and grilled chicken, and orange juice. You can eat if you want" he said noticed her approach

"Okay, thanks"

Back to the uncomfortable silence.

Kate wasn't much hungry. She was the type that when under tension didn't feel hunger, but she knew she had to eat something.

Avoiding looking at him, she made her plate. She noticed Chris was already finishing his meal, but seemed to eat slower now. Probably he wanted to continue the argument. She didn't. she was just too tired for confrontation at that moment.

She finished making her plate and was on the way to the hallway when she heard Chris' voice.

"Where are you going?"

"May I eat in the bedroom or is there a rule I can't do this?"

"No rule against it, but why will you eat there when there's the dining table? Are you avoiding me?"

"As a matter of fact I am"

"Why?"

"Because I'm avoiding this…questionings"

"I won't question you…I just want your company"

She made a face. That was weird. Very weird. Things should be shaken between them and not him treating her so…nicely? As if nothing happened?

"You want my company?"

"Well, why eat alone when we can eat together?"

"Are you alright?" she asked with suspicion

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine…come on Kate, we're grownups. We disagree and get over it. Simple as that. No reason for ignoring"

She let out a defeated sigh and joined him in the table.

He was definitely eating slower than his usual despite the silence if not for the noises of the silverware touching the plates.

Even after finishing his meal, Chris remained sitting there as if waiting for something. She couldn't tell. Probably not even he knew what.

She finished hers and looked at him.

"If you want to say something just say it. I can't stand your silent wall"

He grinned, "I wasn't sure if I should comment that"

"Comment what?"

"How dare you post a picture of mine, write a beautiful declaration and not tagging me?" he said in a funny way

She chuckled, "What?"

"I saw it today. Our picture on your profile"

"Oh…that picture…" she played with her hair in distress

"Yeah, our only picture…so far"

"So far?"

"We should've had taken more pictures there, I don't know how but your camera made me look good"

She laughed, "Are you serious? Are you sure you're not making fun of me?"

"Yeah. I could never make fun of you, Kate. Don't ever think that of me" he said touching her hand on the table

Immediately she looked at it. He immediately let go of her.

"Sorry…"

She swallowed embarrassed. Confused. Was he drunk of something? She couldn't smell any alcohol scent on him.

"I can't get over until I say what I have to say…" she said with a serious gaze

"I already told her you want to talk to her…she wants to talk to you too, but she already apologized for the misunderstanding" he said assuming that was what she was referring to

She made a face. He really took serious her words, her impulsive words. Stupid words. Now more than never she had to say what she wanted to say.

She cleared her throat and inhaled, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry for my overreaction… I didn't have any right to shout at you like that…"

"It's alright. I understand. I'd like to apologize as well for mistakenly comment something personal of yours, but it happened in a moment that I reacted in impulse after something she told me about us…you and I…"

"You and I?"

"Yeah…"

"What did she say?" she asked in curiosity

"Please Kate, don't ask me that" he said in distress

"Why not? My name in the public's mouth and I can't know? That sounds unfair, you know?"

He chuckled, "It's not that important or dangerous… all you need to know is that I said it without thinking. My bad."

She made a face, "You know I won't stop nagging you to tell me that, right?"she said – "Or better, I will ask her when we talk" she thought

"I know. You can nag me all you want, but I won't cede"

"I know you're stubborn, but I can be more"

"I'm a rock"

"I'm the water… as they say: 'Constant dripping wears away the stone'."

He grinned, "You really won't give up, will you?"

"You know I won't, and I can find another source to ask that…"

He laughed. Defeated. He let out a sigh, "Just like everyone else she thought we were a couple and said we'd have children… it's when I said you can't have children"

"She said that?"

He nodded in confirmation looking straight to her eyes.

She looked down at her stomach and pressed it with her hands, "This will never happen. We're not a couple and my uterus is too defective to maintain a pregnancy…when I rarely ovulate as I only have one polycystic ovary"

He stared her with affection, "Isn't there treatment for it?"

She gave a shrug, "Don't have the money to make the surgery or pay for a surrogate mother, and even if I had, the surgery doesn't guarantee its success either as my ovary is defected too, so it leaves only the surrogate mother or adoption as available options…"

"I see, and those options are not your dream…"

"They're not…I really used to dream of the big belly and all the pregnancy stuff…but maybe one day I could adopt…"

"You know adoption is a beautiful act…Sometimes I think of adopting a child when I retire… I lived for a very brief moment in a foster care with my sister when our parents died"

"You did?"

"Yes we did. We stayed until my uncle Jeff could take custody of us as I still didn't have the minimum age to be emancipated, nor had a job to support us, which that necessity became my main reason to join the military due to its stability and all when I was 17."

"I see, so you had an uncle to be your guardian?"

"Yeah, actually he's still alive and once or another we get in touch. He loves to nag me about the family continuation, but it's alright. He's a cool guy"

"I guess people love nagging people like us about having children, don't they?"

"Yeah, it seems that way"

She smiled faintly with a shrug, "Well, with all that on the table and truths that came out…I guess we can say we've moved on from the tension, right?"

"We did!"

"Good. So now I can tag you in my beautiful declaration picture" she said jokingly

"Nah, I was just kidding"

"Breaking the ice?"

He laughed, "You can put it that way"

She raised her hand over the table and showed it to him with a kind smile, "New beginning?"

He smiled back tenderly as he shook her grip, "New beginning!"

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **So we got at an interesting point. In dreams, Kate becomes Katarina and receives spiritual guidance, although when she wakes up she doesn't really keep it all as it happens to us. Sometimes we even think we haven't dreamed, but it's just that we don't keep those memories :(**

 **So now Katarina knows the truth about her own history as Katherine, and Kate only keeps the sensations she had in the "dream". Oh, and there's the Fleury's around huh!**

 **I also added the full version of Angelina's part I had edited out in the other chapter (I don't remember which chapter xD I suck with numbers xD )**

 **And Chris...What to say about Chris? Is the water finally dripping wears away the stone? xD Most probably, right! Come on, this is not a secret! xD**

 **Let's see what happens and...**

 **Stay tuned!**


	59. I Know I Will Love You

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _What keeps you from loving me? Do not I deserve your love?_

 _I know you look at me._

 _I know it is not something made out in my head as initially I thought could be._

 _But I have observed you. Your moves. Your behavior when I am around you with other or when is just the two of us._

 _You change._

 _Confuses me._

 _Why confuse me so much when you look at me with desire, but ignore my presence._

 _Fear of loving?_

 _You do not seem to be afraid when you stay with those whores..._

 _Or would you like me to be your whore and you are afraid to ask or break the doll?_

 _I am not a doll._

 _Know that I could be your whore and everything you want, because out of love I can do everything. Everything!_ "

A few days had passed and it was the dawn of Sunday of September. Kate out of curiosity started reading Katarina's files in the flash drive Mr. Lionel had left for her with his final letter. As accorded, she could only open it after his death.

She didn't understand why he printed all those people's original archives and saved copies in the flash drives to give to them. She knew the same happened for Chris and Piers, but both men didn't show much interest in reading all the content.

Not her case. She wanted to know it all. It didn't matter the reasons Lionel did that.

Somehow she felt privileged in reading about such important people in the history of Bohma. As a fact she loved reading all kinds of things despite people only having a shallow vision of her.

She loved learning about everything and loved different cultures. One of her personal dreams was to travel around the world and that was a part of her frustration which made her usually hide that wish. It was frustrating wishing but not having the conditions for it – financially.

Though it was not everyday someone gets the opportunity to read true biographies – and for free – like she did now thanks to her angelical grandfather. That was how she saw him.

She read at work. She read at "home". It was not her home and she knew it.

" _I am learning how to read between your lines._

 _The way you look. The way you act._

 _The thin contradiction they have._

 _You "ignore" me but you give me gifts._

 _It is not even my birthday! But you gave me a nice necklace._

 _You said it was a simple gift but…nothing is simple when the gem is nothing more than just an emerald! Poor people cannot afford it and I know you could never steal it!_

 _You said you found it, but if it was not fate's hand to do it, I believe more that you have saved money – for me – and does not want to admit it._

 _Not that I doubt you completely, but in the end it does not really matter._

 _What matters to me is that you think of me when I am not around you._

 _You are just in denial._

 _But I will break through your wall._

 _No matter how long it takes._

 _To be or not to be, I am! Katarina O'Gregon, the greatest woman that ever crossed your life and the only one that truly loves you like no other!_

 _A love that will live across and last beyond the time!_

 _I know I will love you_

 _For all my life_

 _I will love you_

 _In every farewell_

 _I will love you_

 _Desperately_

 _I know I will love you._

 _And every verse of mine will be_

 _To tell you_

 _That I know I will you_

 _For all my life_

 _I know I will cry_

 _With every absence of yours I will cry_

 _But every return of yours will erase_

 _What your absence caused me_

 _I know I will suffer_

 _The eternal misfortune of living_

 _Waiting to live next to you_

 _For all my life_

 _I know I will love you_..."

Kate felt shivers reading those love confessions and wondered if the necklace mentioned in the letter was the same Mr. Lionel had made Chris put on her, which now gave a special value to the object.

Katarina O'Gregon was definitely an intense woman with a passion that lived across from her. For now the more she read about that passionate woman, the more she felt the injustice with her fame. She was a human and had flaws. Her feelings were always true. Good or bad.

Naturally people forget what others do. The legacy but the sadly part was that Katarina herself seemed to have forgotten it either when she succumbed to her inflamed jealousy and set fire to the great love she dedicated most of her life to achieve. She burned herself in her own flames.

Power and jealousy combined with a broken ego destroyed that great woman and set her name to infamy.

With teary eyes, Kate felt the sharp pain in her chest. It had a while since she felt it and even thought she was healed from that. Unfortunately not.

Inhaling and letting out her breathe to calm herself, it was enough reading for that night.

She left her bedroom and headed to the kitchen to prepare a late snack.

* * *

 _The Promise_

 **Flashback**

There was a wooden cottage and green trees around the land. A young man and a young woman in white dress with a red ribbon on the waist level were sitting on a bench at the veranda of the house.

Her head resting on his left shoulder. His left hand held her waist and his right hand held her right hand resting on his left thigh. They looked peaceful as they admired the river near the land and the sound of the small waterfall.

Such a peaceful place to be.

"I don't want this to end…" she spoke

"But this is just getting started" he replied

She smiled, "Making love to you and being fully yours today was magical…"

"And we will love more many other times. Today was just the beginning"

"Our first time…"

"Yes, our first time"

"It's still hard to believe…and that's why I don't want it to end. I don't want this day to end… I wish this moment of peace and love would last forever… I wish the magic would last forever…"

"Who says it won't?"

"Because the sun is setting and I have to leave and go home…and keep these memories in secret despite my soul is glowing"

"My soul is glowing too but it will continue shining through the dark, in the night…until we meet again tomorrow…"

"This is going to be the longest night of my life!"

"Yes, it will…"

"Yet, I wish this moment would never end…"

"It will last!"

"I already miss you…"

He caressed her waist, "Let's face it as it just a few hours away until we meet again" he said smiling

"And then we love again" she said with a naughty smile

He smiled in a naughty way back, "Surely, but you know our love is not just that, right?"

She nodded in agreement, "I know, but this has united us even more and I can't help to want it all again…and again… and again…"

He laughed, "You're addicted" he said in a playful way

"I'm addicted…to you and to all the love we have"

He smiled and caressed her face with his right hand, "I'm addicted too" he said before kissing her warmly

They made love –again- on the bench. The nature as the back scenery.

That was the only day those souls were allowed to love each other at full, but they took the most of it, tirelessly.

Their consciences were not aware of it, but their glowing spirits they would be one just for that day and the night, the darkness would come and embrace their fates.

Yet, their spirits shone brightly… and multiplied in two.

As he drove the boat through the river taking her back home, two small lights seemed to leave the back of the waterfall and joined the boat and sat on the woman's each side.

The full moon's light illuminated more them. As they left the boat, he took her in his arms and a strong urge to not let go of her hit him.

"I love you so much Kate"

"I love you too Chris"

"The thought of this hours apart is torturing me already"

"Same here"

"I can feel this is going to be the longest night we ever had…"

"But we will make through it. We always do!"

He nodded in agreement despite his internal disturbance. He looked down at her dress and the ribbon. He took a knife and cut a small part of it.

"What are you doing?" she asked puzzled

"Give me your left hand"

"Why?"

"Just give me"

She did it so.

"You know I'm improvising here because I never planned any of this in this way, but as we are feeling that this is going to be a long night apart after a full day of pure union…I want us to continue feeling united during the separation, so this is the only way I thought we can achieve it for now. Our bodies will be separated but our spirits will continue united and to represent our union, I enlace this ribbon on your ring finger to represent my union to you…like a marriage"

Her eyes were teary in excitement. Overwhelmed. That improvisation was better than any other planning, "A soul's marriage?" she said almost voiceless

"Yes. Our soul's marriage"

She smiled largely

"Of course we can plan this better later and have a decent wedding ceremony…"

"It's perfect already! I don't need any of that, just your honest love…like now" she replied

He smiled flattered.

She took his knife from his hand and cut another small piece of the ribbon and enlaced it around his left ring finger, "This ribbon represents my full union to you, under the moonlight and with the sound of this sacred river. Today I became your woman, your soul wife and my love for you will live across the time. I promise you I will love you and only you forever! There will have no other love like ours and I will give my all, my best to make you the happiest man in the world! I won't let anyone come between us as our love will shine throughout the adversities"

He kissed her passionately and then smiled warmly, "I make your words my words as you know you have always been better with it than me…"

"I know my love, but I know your actions speak for you" she said rolling her arms around his neck

He rolled his arms around her waist with a proud smile, "I love you my soul wife"

"I love you my soul husband"

Their souls shone bright. White and red. And the green. But the green represented something else. The growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment. The simplicity around them.

The two small lights entered her womb.

If only that young couple knew what awaited them.

If only they knew with anticipation…

Maybe things would have been different.

Those two lights became the resource of Katherine's main strength during the following hard months.

Those two lights legacies opened path for the reencounter of that promise those simple young souls made to each other, but…centuries passed. Centuries events came in between the simplicity of the 14th and the luxury of the 17-18th. A lot had happened in nearly four hundred years.

The simplicity of the green seemed to have gone…

Or maybe suppressed like it happened to Katherine's light in Katarina's darkened spirit.

And Christian's partially in Christopher's mess, but mainly in Chris Redfield's rock.

 **End of Flashback**

Chris woke up in sweat. That dream seemed to be part of the collection of weird dreams he had since he was young, but now they seemed to have more details and a weird context.

He turned on the lamp on the bedside table as he sat up in bed. He looked at the wall and the painting hung. The couple's back painting. So disturbingly familiar. They looked like the young couple he used to see in his dreams, though lately he used to see Kate's face in the woman's.

Probably a trick of his brain.

He ignored those dreams as much he could and for awhile he stopped dreaming of the woman in black. Both dreams caused him nostalgia and a mix of feelings he preferred not to pay attention.

Thirsty, he stood up and headed to the kitchen.

He saw Kate reaching the upper cabinet, but his eyes couldn't lay off her lifted tiny and tight sexy red nightdress and the bottom of her naked butt showing.

In light speed, his mind made out images of him fucking her from behind.

He and Kate were growing closer in friendly terms, but that knowledge and view hit him hard the few occasions he accidentally caught a glimpse of naked parts of Kate. That was a sexy torture he had to deal with daily.

He stood behind her and reached the object she wanted to get, though, with her scare as she didn't noticed his entrance, she lost a bit the balance and her ass touched his lower parts.

Kate looked behind and down at Chris wearing only green boxers. She disguised the look of the "pleasant" view of his not so flaccid member as her ass had just confirmed it.

"Sorry…" he said apologetic

"It happens, but I didn't see you entering"

He laughed in distress, "Yeah, it's my cat walk…I got used to walk without making too much noise, especially barefoot…"

She avoided looking down, but seeing Chris Redfield only in his boxers and that toned and muscled body wasn't making it easy to disguise the intimacy growing between them. She was still trying to forget the moment she caught a glimpse of his naked butt the day before when he was changing clothes before they head out for dinner.

Accidental naked glimpses seemed to have become a routine for that pair, despite them keeping the views only to themselves.

Accidental or not, for Kate that seemed to be more fair as he so far was the only one with memories of her naked body for sure.

"Can't sleep?" she asked stepping away

"Not quite, I'm thirsty. You?"

"I'm hungry"

Yeah, both were hungry and thirsty. Double meaning talk.

Chris opened the fridge and got a jar of orange juice and saw on the dining table. Kate cooked. They talked occasionally before Kate joined him in the table.

"So what is your plan for your Sunday morning?"

"Jogging or gym"

She giggled, "No lazy ass?"

"No lazy ass in the morning, maybe in the afternoon. What about you?"

"Reading"

"Are you still reading those files?"

"Yeah. It's a gift, gotta take it"

He chuckled, "I don't know how you can do that"

"I take it as a History study with the charm of a novel…and I love novels!"

He grinned, "Each one with their tastes…I prefer go camping or a shooting range"

"Or gym…"

He laughed, "Yeah, or gym"

"Camping…that reminds me of an old personal tale"

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"I'm curious because with all the respect you don't seem to be the type that goes camping…"

She made a face, "You're assuming wrong…partially wrong! Just because of the fact I hate mosquitoes, bugs and swimming it doesn't mean I can't enjoy the nature!"

He laughed, "Will you share?"

"Of course! It's not a wow of a story but it's kind of funny when I think about it"

"So tell me about your funny adventure on nature"

She cleared her throat and lifted her back and rested her elbows on the table, exposing more her boobs to Chris' eyes level.

Intentionally or not, Chris disguised his pleasant view."

"That happened when I was a kid, maybe 6 years old or something. My father liked such adventures, he even had a boat but I hated sailing because I freaked out about the idea of entering the boat, and lake, and stuff like that…but that's another story"

"Okay"

"So the camp day, I don't remember much but the necessary to laugh at myself and it's enough to make me be sure it's a trauma that maybe I brought from some other life because that's the only reasonable explanation for the case…anyways, so I remember there were bungalows or cottages and my father preferred to stay at a camp tent…sleep on the ground, grass, bugs and all…he was lucky I was a kid and wasn't so bitchy about it like I'm today…"

He laughed, "Kids like those stuff…grass, mud, and stuff"

"Get dirty!"

"Yeah…"

"I like getting dirty but never mind…"

He laughed loud

"Back to the camp day…"

"Go ahead"

"So we were sleeping in the camp tent. The place was a natural park and I remember there was a pool that triggered all my fear of water and paranoia that could have snakes or crocodiles, or alligator or something like that in it because as far as I remember we couldn't see the ground of it. Maybe because of the water or because of the color of the rocks…so I used to imagine there was some animal in it and they would catch us like in the movies…"

"Well, it's a reasonable paranoia as it could really happen due to the location…"

"Yeah, exactly! So aside from that, there was also a river and despite my fear of entering in it, I admit there was a part of me that wanted to get near to it, maybe jump in it…I don't know…I loved listening to its sound, especially at night when it was silent, or maybe it was the sound of the waterfall near, either ways, I loved listening to the sound of running water and I still do!"

"That's good to know! I can see some evolution from the phobia!"

"Yeah…I'm not afraid of water itself, but the depth or drowning…or be taken by some animal into it…"

"I can see some reasonability"

She smiled, "Thanks for the encouragement but you're about to be sure that I'm a chicken that can't fly…I mean, swim"

"Okay…" he smiled

"So the next memory I have of it is when we finally went to see the waterfall. I was pretty much excited about it, I just couldn't count that what it could mean"

"Why?"

"I didn't really think people could swim there…I thought we were just going to see it and not jump in it"

"You jumped the waterfall?"

"No! it was too high for that, but people used to swim in the lake around it"

"Oh, I see"

"And that's what my father and mother did"

"It sucks to be you" he said with irony

"Yeah it does! I was alone at the shore while the people were there having fun…I got pissed! I was the only one not having the fun and burning under the sun!"

"Sorry about that" he teased her

"Shut up! I'm a brave chicken!"

He laughed

"I saw there was a rock that I could stay and feel somehow connected in their joy…the problem was the gap from the shore to the rock…at that time I loved watching Power Rangers and I thought I could be like them and I almost jumped from the shore to the rock as I had taken some impulse…I only stopped my crazy idea because I feared losing balance and bad calculation and fall in the water…so I was a smart chicken if not for the idea I had next…"

He chuckled, "Which idea?"

"I asked someone to take me there, actually my mother but she was too far to listen to me, so my father was the one to attend me"

"Oh, and were you taken to the rock?"

"I did, but I regretted it immensely the moment my father accepted my crazy request…I guess I was oblivious to the fact that I'd have to be taken into the water until there and trust his strength and swimming skill"

"So you didn't go to the rock?"

"I did!"

"You did?"

"Yeah! I kicked my fear out for a minute and hard like a piece of wood, I sat on his shoulder as he swum until there…the problem was to step on the rock. It was flat, but I feared it anyways, but I made it and I felt so brave! Staring the waterfall because my view of it was really in the center and it was such a beautiful landscape. I only had to ignore the river path behind me"

"I'm glad to hear that. That gives me a boost to give you swimming lessons on nature"

"No way Chris! What happened next took all my bravery away"

"Why? Did you slip into the water?"

"No! There was a fire caterpillar next to me!"

"Oh crap. Did it bite you?"

"No! My loud yells kept it away from me for some time until my father saved me! I was trembling and almost jumped into the water to escape it! I cried rivers literally due to the despair. I didn't know those shit could swim! But I've have been bitten by it when I was a toddler, so my despair was in the ultimate level"

He couldn't help the laugh. Not that he laughed at her or her trauma, but it was funny her theatrical way of telling it.

"So that proves that all the times I tried to kick ass into the water on nature I almost screwed up! The caterpillar and the almost drowning have been enough for this lifetime!"

"But I'll be there with you. I'll make sure no bugs will interfere"

"You can't control bugs Chris. It's beyond your power!"

"But I can get rid of them for you" he said looking into her eyes with conviction

She smiled. It was cute the rock being sweet. Despite all that grumpy cover around that man, he could still be kind. Usually in a funny and clumsy way, but the intention is what really matters.

"The talk is good but I should wash the dishes and go to sleep. It's late"

"Alright, and I love listening to your stories. You have good ones"

"Thanks. You could tell me more your stories as well to be fair and not me the only talkative part in here. I don't like feeling I'm boring you"

"You don't bore at all! I like you"

She smiled tenderly, "I like you too"

They kept staring for some time. None seemed to want to part.

Something inside them wanted to break that silence and cross the line. Break the wall. For how long more they could keep that fire from consuming them?

"I'll wash the dishes. Good night Kate" he said with a hoarse

"Okay… Good night Chris"

She took long to sleep as she was lost in her thoughts. Admiring their picture as her cell phone background, "What is this I'm feeling? Am I falling for him?"

He didn't sleep at all. Little after the sunrise he left to jog and vent his mind.

* * *

Kate woke up by the sound of the doorbell. She checked the clock. 8:30AM.

It couldn't be Eliza, she had the keys. Much less Chris. Cleaning her face quickly she headed to the door and opened it without checking the peephole.

She let out a discontented sigh with the unexpected unpleasant visitor.

"What a bad way to start the Sunday morning after a great night" she said rolling her eyes

"I guess I could make your words, my words"

"What do you want?"

"Nothing else…but I can say I just confirmed I wasn't wrong about you"

"About me?"

"Yes. You're clever and I hope you're enjoying the ride while you can before he realizes what type of person you are"

Kate chuckled, "Excuse me! You come to my door to insult me. Who do you think you are, Loser?"

"I'm not the loser, but you"

"Me?"

"This is not your home"

"It is, I live here!"

The other woman chuckled, "You're fast and really smart. Men in love really do things they wouldn't do when not in love. Chris is a man, but a good one. Different of you, I won't try to separate you even though I despise you. Yet, Chris made his choice and I hope he made a good one. I really hope you're smart enough to keep him and make him happy as he deserves. He has been through a lot and doesn't deserve another deception in form of gold digger."

"I'm not a gold digger!"

"So be more than just the whore he's banging"

Kate didn't think twice and raised her hand to slap the Cathy's face, "You come to my house and offend me? get out of here before I make you swallow your words!"

"Enough girls!"

They heard Chris' voice echoing in the hallway as he walked over their way.

"Chris…" Cathy spoke in surprise

Kate didn't disguise her annoyed face.

"Go inside. I'll take it from here" he said to the brunette

Even vexed, Kate left them alone, although she listened to their conversation through the door.

"Disappointment describes my feelings watching this scene you started. Until today I always had a hope that breaking up with you had been a mistake and homing Kate was a wrong move, but…I guess I wrong keeping that hope…"

"She always provoked me"

"I guess she just reacted to you"

"She envied me and often insulted me! She almost strangled me… she slapped me!"

"You're not a victim, you cursed her now. I heard it or are you going to deny that?"

"I admit I insulted her until today, but only this time…I'm sorry for that"

"I'm not the one you should apologize"

"If is that what you want, I will, but you should know I didn't lie when I said I want you to be happy, even if that means is not with me, but with her"

"There is no me and her…"

"No? She said she lives here"

"She does, but not for the reason you think"

She chuckled rolling her eyes, "You still deny any involvement with her…so if it's really true that. Tell me…I know you're a very honest man and say it looking into my eyes that you never had any intimacy with her… that is just a rumor what they say"

Chris remained staring her. Only a few muscles of his face moved. He swallowed. Her face expressed the disappointment. Until that day she had kept the hope that people only talked trash about him and the secretary. Now it made sense why they lived together. It was painful the thought he had lied to her all the long.

He couldn't say it. Not in the way she asked him to, "I can't say I never had any intimacy with her because I'd be lying, and I never lied to you…I don't lie to you"

"You just admitted you and her…."

"I never cheated on you! What happened between me and her was after you and I broke up"

He didn't lay his eyes off hers. She could feel his sincerity through it. Still not less painful. She still felt she wasted her time swallowing up her pride and knock on his door to try a reconciliation.

Looking down she let out a sigh before meeting his gaze again, "Thank you for your honesty."

"I never lied to you"

"I believe you. Always did…"

He tried to take her grip but she declined it"

"I'm sorry for losing my way with her and if you really want, and despite our differences I myself can apologize to her although I don't think she will believe me"

"It's her call to decide that"

"I know…"

"You should've called"

"I know…but it served me to be sure you have moved on…"

He let out a frustrated sigh, "Cathy…"

"And before I go…I really wish you all the best in your choice. I really meant those words I told her"

"I didn't choose her…"

"Yet there's no room for me in your life"

"You can't say that…"

"Yes I can… I can't share you with her"

"But…"

"Not but Chris…the moment you let her enter your life it meant you let me out…"

"…"

"I know it's too late. It's been a while since we broke up, but ever since you never really tried to contact me, so I can assure I'm really out… and even if there was a chance until today…it faded the moment you confirmed about you and her…We just weren't meant to be…"

He exhaled saddened. There was too much confusion and he hated feeling that way. Maybe it was the right thing to do and leave Cathy out of that mess. She didn't deserve it.

* * *

Kate ran to her bedroom when she noticed their conversation seemed over.

Listening to their conversation made her reflect her own attitudes now that she was in a whirlwind of feelings. And despite their differences, she listened to Cathy's apology. She wanted to prove she was not the bitch she was portrayed.

When Cathy left, Chris isolated himself in his bedroom. While Kate stayed in hers reading more files of Katarina as she listened repeatedly Kate Havnevik's song Grace:

" _I'm on my knees  
Only memories  
Are left for me to hold_

 _Don't know how  
But I'll get by  
Slowly pull myself together_

 _There's no escape  
So keep me safe  
This feels so unreal_

 _Nothing comes easily  
Fill this empty space  
Nothing is like it seems  
Turn my grief to grace_

 _I feel the cold  
Loneliness unfold  
Like from another world_

 _Come what may  
I won't fade away  
But I know I might change_

 _Nothing comes easily  
Fill this empty space  
Nothing is like it was  
Turn my grief to grace_

 _Nothing comes easily  
Where do I begin?  
_ _Nothing can bring me peace  
I've lost everything  
I just want to feel your embrace_"

(*)

As the night approached, Kate listened to knocks on her door. She opened it and saw Chris standing.

"I owe you some memories, don't I?" he said stepping in

"What?"

That was all Kate had time to speak before Chris pulled her to him and locked his lips on hers.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin and scropion** **for the reviews! :D**

 **Songs listed: The translation of a brazilian song: Eu sei que vou te amar**  
 **Grace by Kate Havnevik**

 **Finally these two seem coming to terms! Let's see what happens next.**

 **Stay tuned!**


	60. Chapter 60

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contais Sexual Language (but the smut I removed in this published version)**

* * *

" _I made it! I finally made it!_

 _Christopher Reed is mine now!_

 _It was so unexpected. Going to that festivity was the best thing I did and boom, Christopher was taking me for him!_

 _My body is still in flames for making love with him. Mad love!_

 _I still stunned with his performance. He overcame any expectation I ever had. He is way better in reality than he was in my thoughts._

 _I knew he had a thing for me! I was not wrong!_

 _It took me a while, but I managed to break through his wall._

 _Patience is a virtue and I have a lot of it and fortunately the result was absolutely worth it!_

 _I wish I could have stopped the time, not for the love making but for the love I saw in his eyes._

 _My spirit recognized it, so familiar. It was like coming back home. Our souls were one, drowning in passion, floating with the angels…_

 _I so felt it…and I am sure he felt it too._

 _I am overflowed with love. Love for him. Love for Christopher Reed._

 _No one will separate us. No one!_

 _I promise that!_

 _Christopher Reed is the one I was looking for and nothing will stay in my way to keep him._

 _Hopefully all the love he deposited in me will become a seed._

 _Our seed._

 _A seed of pure love."_

* * *

"What are you doing?" she said breaking the kiss

"Kissing you…"

She chuckled, "Really? Why?"

He made a face, "Isn't it what you wanted?"

It was so sudden. She was still recollecting from the scare of being taken out of the blue. Though, it didn't mean she didn't like it. She was just taken off guard.

She smiled, "I just didn't expect it"

"I know…I didn't expect it either"

She laughed

"I didn't plan this…I just wanted to talk and then it happened…I'm sorry…"

Noticing his possible regret and the wall forming between them, she cut the distance and stepped closer to him touching his arm delicately, "Stay…and don't be sorry. I'm not sorry for kissing you back"

He smiled. She did kiss back, despite breaking the kiss, "If I stay…I might return the memory you don't have…"

"We can make new ones!" she spoke seductively

Their hearts were accelerated. Their reasons had no answer to where those feelings were coming from and had no power to stop the wave of sensations coring through their bodies, externalizing into another kiss. A passionate one.

Homesick. Homecoming.

None of that was new to them, but still felt like brand as new on the white page of their stories they were about to start.

A kiss of dancing tongues. Bites. Sucking. Their breathing hungry for oxygen. They were hungry for each other's bodies.

She licked and sucked his neck while her hands travelled through his chest, feeling the few hair he had on it. She didn't mind. At least, not about his. Strangely she could accept anything about him – as long as she didn't lose him.

Her lips travelled down to his chest. His nipples. His hands caressed her hair and her upper back.

She used her nails to trail his skin. His shaped abs. His back. Causing delicious shivers on his skin as his lower part responded through his boxers and the growing volume forming.

She looked down to appreciate. She wanted. She needed to release that beast from its cage and finally keep the memory she had lost of it. Although not so fast. She needed to play her cards on the game too. She loved that game. The game of seduction. It was a tough thing to do as the curiosity and excitement pressed her buttons to go to the final stage. The brand new territory they were left off.

They kissed again. Feverously. His turn to return the neck bites and sucking, and licked down to her breasts as he lowered the straps and cupped them in his hands. Perfect cups. So soft and natural. He licked them in several paces. Fast, slow, medium. He sucked one nipple at a time. Turning the pink erect spots into red ones as she loved when he sucked it hard. Nibbled them.

Her moans were music to his ears.

They kissed again. Her pelvis could feel his member against hers. Only the fabrics of their clothes separating them.

That was enough to keep her curiosity off. She needed to see that man in full.

Still kissing him, she used her left hand into his underwear and grabbed him. She broke the kiss to look down when she felt it. Surprised. How could she have forgotten that "small" – not small at all – detail? She always wondered about the myth of the steroids and if he had taken it at some point in his life. Her fingers didn't touch and that turned her on even more. That was the first time that happened. She felt challenged and she loved challenges.

"That's a rifle you got there!"

He laughed, "You said that the other time"

"Oh did I?" she said licking her lips. Teasing him.

He smiled in ecstasy. He knew how good she was with her hands and her mouth and this time he wouldn't let things stay in half way.

She lowered down his underwear until his feet, teasing him by passing her nails on his thighs and looking up in a naughtily. She studied him from the bottom up. She had no hurry. She wanted to torture him a little bit more just like he tortured her by not telling her about their foreplay.

She stood up and stepped back to sit on the border of the bed. Without taking her eyes off of him she lifted her night dress up in a seductive strip tease.

He played himself watching her. He liked that game. Her game.

She threw it on the floor. Still keeping her legs closed, she played with her boobs. With her skin. Her hair. She licked her fingers never cutting the eye contact. She watched him play himself with delight. She observed how he did it, so she could learn and do it herself on him.

She finally opened her legs, slowly, seductively and passed her nails on her own thighs. Her fingers finally reached her own spot and while he played with himself, she touched herself in a synchrony at distance.

After finishing the first round, within minutes, they were ready for the second round. Spooning her closely with his head nestled against hers, he felt thoroughly content in a lust soaked haze until they both exploded in pleasure. They fucked for long hours until their bodies fell drained on the mattress.

* * *

" _My feeling of glory has been torn apart. I told my father my intention to marry Christopher and he said a loud no. I insisted for a week and he continue denying it._

 _Four weeks have passed since Christopher and I made love. He went on a trip of two weeks and when I went to welcome him back he treated so coldly that I felt so embarrassed. I thought he had a bad trip, so I apologized._

 _Today I finally went after him at his home. I needed answers. He said he regretted it and that we made a mistake that will not happen again._

 _Scumbag!_

 _I could not help the slap I gave him. I am having the worst week of my life! My mood is terrible and the universe seems to be provoking me._

 _No one treats me that way! Not even Christopher Reed!_

 _We argued._

 _And what I really wanted to tell him I ended up forgetting to._

 _For now the only one that knows about it is my sister._

 _My clock cycle is delayed…"_

.

.

.

The alarm clock rang, wakening the spooning couple. They were sore and overwhelmed. Starting the day in a great style, they had "breakfast" in shower.

As Chris drove to work, he noticed Kate was submersed on her personal laptop.

"I don't know how you can start your day reading about her…" he commented

"Actually I started my day fucking you and now I'm reading"

He giggled. True.

"Her writing is so addictive, her diaries, her letters… The details people don't know but that could make a difference on how they see her…Did you know got pregnant of him in the very first time they slept together?"

He made a face, "No…did she?"

She nodded in confirmation

"Did he know it?" he asked in a sort of sarcasm

"I don't know…so far until the part I'm reading she didn't tell him"

He smirked, "So she hid it. Are you sure it was his?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. It was impossible talking about Katarina with him. The problem was, why did she continue insisting on it?

Noticing her silence he let out a sigh, "That's one of the differences you and I have. The conception about Katarina O'Gregon. No matter what you tell me, I won't change my mind about her."

"She wasn't so bad. She had genuine feelings, especially for Christopher"

"So genuine that she pushed him off the cliff…" he said in irony

"I don't disagree of you about her flaws. I admit she had some, but I'm sure she has written about it or about the things that led her to do that, but I can tell that wasn't something she had planned nor stabbing Angelique"

"Katarina is a fake person. Her actions were contrary to her speech. She bragged about motherhood but she killed a pregnant woman and mistreated her first daughter. She bragged about girl power but she used men on her welfare. She bragged her love for Christopher but banged his best friend. Falsity and selfishness is what defines Katarina O'Gregon"

Kate let out a frustrated sigh. It wasn't that she wanted to make Chris change his opinion about Katarina but he could give a try in seeing her side as well and make a more complete judgment on the woman, plus it bothered her, his comments about her reading about it and tended to attack it even if in a subtle way.

"I admire her and she's becoming an inspiration for me…"

Chris made a grumpy face and looked at her.

"Professionally speaking. She was smart and skilled with diplomacy and all those things such as writing, speaking, dealing with divergences… She was less emotional than me! I so admire her for that."

"Should I get worried about her inspiring you in private life too?"

She laughed, "Honey, you should get worried about Katarina in private if she had a long and thick cock! Probably I'd want to fuck her if she had it"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Of course I am…unless hers would be bigger than what I already have…I mean, you have…"

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. Silly Kate.

She caressed his thigh with a friendly gaze, "We should make a deal"

"What deal?"

"Stop bugging me about my reading on Katarina and I'll stop bugging you about…"

He didn't let her finish her sentence, "Angelina"

She made a face.

"I know you don't like when I talk to her, but I tell you I won't stop it because you don't like it"

"You have feelings for her…"

"I'm dating you. Only you. I'm not the type the cheats"

She made a face of incredulity.

"You should've known it. You better than anyone should know it"

She remained in silence with mixed feelings. Knowing he had feelings for someone else made her think he'd always be cheating as she wasn't the only one in his thoughts.

"If you really want to be in a relationship with me, you have to deal with your jealousy and trust me. I will never cheat on you and I can promise you that!"

"But I won't be the only one for you like you will be for me. it sounds an unfair rule"

"Kate… I don't think of her as much you think I do. I'm giving us a chance which means you'll be the only one I'll want by my side romantically speaking. There won't have anyone else and not even Angelina…I'm being honest with you so then you won't accuse me of shit. Now is up to you"

She bit her lips thoughtful.

"Now you know how I feel about you and Piers…" he said looking at the road

She turned her face to him, "Forget about Piers"

"So forget about Angelina"

Now the deal seemed fair as there was no comparison of subjects between Angelina and Katarina. Right?

"You're smarter than you show…you kept all that to you to throw the bomb on my lap now" she said jokingly

He giggled, "I don't fear you reading about Katarina despite fearing her influence on you when you said that…but that's something subjective and only time will tell me how to deal with it, however Piers is a concrete thing. You have a history and you're still close…"

"Which could be a threat to your jealousy too" she completed his sentence

"That's right. Angelina and I have an ocean of distance, you and Piers have few inches sometimes…"

She looked at him with a determined expression, "So we have a deal! No bugging about Piers or Angelina"

"Deal!"

They smiled in agreement.

"Ah, and we may have another deal"

"Which is?"

"The professional behavior."

"Of course! No intimacy for the others to talk about"

"Exactly."

"With the exeception of the day we make my fantasy to bang in your office true"

He laughed loud, "What?"

"I mean it! I so want to fuck on your desk..."

"On the couch" he added

"On the couch! Reporting might have a new meaning from now on and it will not only be coffee you'll have in your early mornings..." she said teasing him passing her hand delicately on his groin

He smiled accepting her seductive play, "And nobody has to know that" he said

"Nobody!"

"Should we start changing the routine today?" he asked with a tease

"Yes Sir!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! Why the doubt?"

"I got worried...I hurt you..."

She smiled in reassurance, "I'm fine!"

"There was some bleeding...I saw it..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm completely fine!"

"Oh right...you like it when it hurts..."

She laughed, "Yes I do!"

They continued dirty talking on their way to the headquarters. Work had a new meaning now for the couple that were finally reknowing.

.

.

.

" _The brilliant trees standing in the cool air  
Are losing the colors as if hiding themselves  
Just like me who is afraid of the warmth  
Keeping myself away from anything leading to hope_

 _The smiling face of that person  
Looks dazzling and so tender  
I am afraid I might show my weakness  
And start crying_

 _I noticed this love  
The moment my fingertip touched his  
And my feelings were  
About to flow out_

 _I wonder why it is difficult for us  
To walk as we wish_

 _Actually I have always  
Realized for sure  
But I turned my eyes from the reality  
And denied the truth_

 _I am staring at my dear person  
I might tell him  
Of this feeling  
Around the time the wind changes_

 _When the trees come into bud again  
And the leaves are freshly green  
I want to show my smile  
More natural than now_"

* * *

 **Thank you Pin, Xaori and scropion** **for the reviews! :D**

 **The last quote is the english version of a song Green by Ayumi Hamasaki**

 **The chapter got way smaller as I removed the smut, and from now on, skips in the timeline will be more constant as we are closer to the end...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	61. Chapter 61

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contais Sexual Language (but the smut I removed in this published version)**

* * *

 **BSAA Headquarters**

"I'm going out for lunch with Lucy"

He made a face, "Okay…" he said with a tone of disappointment

Studying his reaction she replied, "Why that face?"

"Nothing…"

"There is something!"

He laughed, "Nothing to worry… it's just that I thought we would have lunch together…" he stepped close to her and pulled her to him as he started planting kisses on her neck, "I'm really hungry…" he said in between kisses, feeling a bit breathless

His beard caused her shivers, immediately turning her on.

"I think I want the couch time now"

"Mmm, that so? She laced her fingers behind his neck, holding him close

"I do" he said putting his hand between her legs. His fingers travelling between her inner thighs seductively as he it reached up that very spot

She bit her lips enjoying the touch, "I never thought you'd want to have a meal by this time of the day…"

"Everyone from this story take lunch break by this time…giving us one hour of extra work…" he said playing with her wetness

She stepped back gazing him with a naughty expression, "Lucy can wait…I'll lock the door anyways just for precaution…don't want to ruin your impeccable reputation…"

He closed the blinds.

They kissed. Soft. Sweet. Paced. That day Kate didn't have lipstick on and probably that habit would become more often as blurred makeup could turn their extra activities in.

He groaned and held her tight, "Fuck, I need you"

"Then take me"

Chris' mouth captured hers, and this time the kiss wasn't gentle. His tongue swept against hers, possessive, demanding, and urgent. She moaned against him, entranced by the feel of his lips on her as he was pulling her backward until the couch. His hands were lifting her skirt.

[...]

"Now you have permission to recharge the batteries for later…" he said with a naughty expression as he held her close and kissed her

She smiled sassily, "You should do the same" she kissed him back before leaving the cabin.

The rock and the water were addicted to each other. Addicted to their sex. Addicted to their bodies. Addicted to Passion. Eros Love.

* * *

 **Restaurant**

"Sorry I'm late…" Kate said greeting her friend with a kiss on the cheek before sitting on the seat in front of her

The brunette shrugged, "I didn't wait much…only half an hour" she said with sarcasm

"Don't blame me. Blame my boyfriend"

"Boyfriend? Are you and Piers finally settled?"

Kate chuckled, "No Piers, he's past!"

"So who is the new bait?"

"Don't say that about him. I'm not like that anymore…"

"You were until Piers…"

"Just forget it. I really am not like that anymore…my new boyfriend is a totally different thing…almost like a sexy fairytale!"

Lucy laughed, "Someone is really in love huh!"

Kate smiled proudly, "I am! It's not easy to admit that, but I am!"

"So who is the prince charming?"

Kate bit her lips in distress. She knew Lucy would bug her about the man's identity and tell her the usual "I told you so".

Lucy reading through Kate's mystery and so many years of friendship made her almost read the green-eyed girl's thoughts, "No way…I knew this would happen! It took longer than I expected, but I so knew this would happen!"

"Enough with the 'I told you so'" Kate said rolling her eyes

"It's never enough when you're so stubborn!"

"Chris is more stubborn than me!"

Lucy laughed loud, "Right! Now it has become a competition?"

"Not a competition. It's the truth. It's because of him 'this' took so long to happen"

"Not so long…just a month according to my math since you sent me the message of the night of the festival…"

"A long month without proper banging! At least he's compensating the long wait and has showed to be as sexual as I am! And I thought Piers was the best p* eater and fucker, but I only thought that because I hadn't banged Chris!"

Lucy laughed, "So that final act finally happened?"

"It did! I'm still recovering from last night and…"

"The delay…yeah, I just figured it"

"Yeah!" Kate couldn't stop smiling

A heartily smile. A smile that not even Lucy had seen on her before. She could tell Kate was really happy – and satisfied.

"Not even when I had my first time I got so sore like I am now…dang! It really feels like my complacent hymen has been broken at last…it even bled a little."

Lucy made a face, "Really? So you finally got the stick you so dreamed of?"

"I did…and it even surpassed my dreams expectations"

"I see, and for how long have you been dating?"

Kate checked her watch, "8 hours. We banged last night but only this morning he proposed a relationship"

"I see…so congratulation sis! Seeing you so happy makes me happy too!"

"Thank you sis…I know you told me many times about me and the signs…and I finally decided to follow your advices"

"Yeah, and that's the irony. The guy that wasn't your type is the one that is making you shine"

"Right! I can barely contain all this I'm feeling…it's even scary if I stop to think about it…so much happened in a year but it feels so much like ages have passed…"

"I never saw you this happy…so I can tell it's really been ages! You're not wrong feeling this way"

"Right! You see, you always have the best words!"

"I don't know him…"

"Yet!" Kate interrupted her

"Yeah…I don't know him but from all you have told me about him. I really wish you guys can work it. He seems to be a good guy and willing to help you make your dreams come true, different of repulsive Douglas…"

"Don't even repeat that name again. I don't want to lose my glow remembering that evil…" Kate said making the cross sign, "And you're absolutely right. Chris wants the best for me and he has proved it. I don't want to disappoint him and screw this up…it feels like I'm having a deadline this time and…I can't fail!"

"So don't you think is about time to be honest with him? With yourself? You know you cannot ignore your past the way you're doing. You know lies come to light and if Chris is so righteous, isn't it better you telling him the truth now that is starting instead of later and be too late to fix things?"

Kate looked down in distress, "You really know how to blow out my light…"

"I'm not blowing it out. I'm telling you this to make it glow even more…you can't start a serious relationship with such a lie"

"I don't know if I can go back in that…"

"You should try for your own welfare…before other people do it and for the message you sent me, Dennis seems willing to do that"

"I know…I hope Chris is not so righteous about truths then…I don't want to lose him for my own past stupidity…"

"Well, if he doesn't take your honesty in account, so I guess that means he's not all that either, but a vain guy that won't deserve the effort to work on the relationship you're building…"

"It's not vain from his part if he does it but sensitive…he has been through a lot and his trust ability has been shaken abruptly by others…"

"You're really in love with him to say that…seeing things from his perspective…"

Kate giggled, "I'm really holding myself to not say I love him so soon!"

"Say it! Don't be afraid of your feelings and his reaction to it. He lives dangerously and you know…anything can happen and then you'll only live with the regret for keeping it to yourself…but don't expect him to say it back"

"You know me too well to know I've always been so scared of my own feelings at times…I can't talk to him about this but I can with you, but…remember the woman in black I used to see in my dreams since I was a kid?"

"Yes I do. You could see her face that was always blurred"

"Exactly…now I see her face!"

"And how does she look like? Do you know her?"

"Physically she's beautiful, and you do know her as well"

"Do I?"

Kate nodded in confirmation.

"Who is she then?"

"Myself…" Kate said spooked

"What? This doesn't make any sense!"

"It doesn't and it gets worse…"

Lucy chuckled, "What do you mean?"

"She has a name…and lately I can't stop thinking about her…"

"Who?"

Reluctant, Kate inhaled and let out a long sigh, "Katarina…O'Gregon"

"Katarina O'Gregon, the one you said you saw portraits at the art museum?"

"The one and only!"

"That's crazy! I think you're just relating to her…"

"Maybe…but…what if is there any chance that past lives really exist and I'm her reincarnation?"

"I don't know…I don't doubt it but…I made a quick research on her and…I don't see you have something in common with her…"

"What if I tell you her descendant gave me all her diaries and I could relate to her testimonies until now…especially her story with Christopher Reed…my inner side so relates to them!"

Lucy made a concerned face and held her friend's hand on the table, "Kate…you need to stop this"

"Stop what?"

"Relating to Katarina…you have been doing this since the museum…"

"I'm not doing anything wrong! I'm learning her story, seeing her side. Don't historians do that?"

"Kate, I'm not saying for you to stop the curiosity, but…can't you realize you're connecting yourself to her? Seeing her as the answer for your dreams? You did that to the fisher man!"

"And I wasn't wrong! Chris has the same dreams and I never told him about mine!"

"Kate…even if is true…what difference does it make in your life?"

Katerina let out a sigh thoughtful, "Take her a good inspiration…people do that with artists, etc…"

"Isn't she the one who killed an innocent pregnant woman?"

"Katarina was more than just that assassination. She had flaws and made mistakes, that was probably her biggest one, although I have seen people making more atrocities than she did and they're not perceived as villains as she is…it's unfair!"

"So what? Do you want to be the savior of Katarina's reputation?"

"Maybe…that's a good idea I haven't thought until now"

Lucy rolled her eyes. She knew her friend long enough to know she wouldn't let go of that bone. The truth was she couldn't really judge it. She preferred to remain neutral about that matter as she didn't know Katarina and Kate had her free will to make her own decisions.

* * *

 **BSAA**

Piers was leaving the shooting range when he spotted Chris standing near the gate.

"It's good to see you're improving your skills. You really made great shots" Chris said breaking the ice

"Thank you sir. I try my best"

"I know you do"

"So, is there anything else would you like to point out?"

"No…but I want to talk to you about something else…"

The young soldier sensed there was something in his superior's lines and immediately his mind could only name only one subject for such a mysterious tone: Kate.

"Alright…" he replied keeping his guess to himself

They walked in a slow pace back to the headquarters.

"Look…There's no easier way to say this, but I wanted to anticipate before the rumors start spreading…Kate and I are dating"

Piers swallowed looking briefly to another direction, "Weren't you already?"

"No, and you know that"

Piers chuckled, "I can't be sure of what I know as my eyes have seen more than the gossipers."

"There was nothing in what you have seen. I always respected your relationship with her"

"No offense, Chris. There was never a relationship and…and you know that. I appreciate your consideration but you didn't need to give me an explanation of who you are dating now. Not my business"

"I know but I did it for our partnership. You work in my team and I wanted to come clean before people talk trash when they learn Kate and I are official now"

"With all the respect, you already live together. There's nothing else to make a big fuzz anymore"

"Still…I just wanted you to know from me"

"Thank you for your honesty, Sir… Is there anything else would you like to share?"

"In personal level no, but I do about work"

"Okay…"

"Did you read the flash drive Lionel left for you?"

"I did and I left the sample he gave me of the black herb at the lab. They're studying it"

"Good…I was thinking about paying a visit at the location it grows. The books say the cavern was destroyed, but…Lionel has kept processed stuff, I don't think the sample he gave you was the last one produced"

"You believe there's a bigger storage"

"I do, and I believe there's still production even if in a smaller scale. For his benefit and now that he's dead…we can't be sure who's dealing with it"

"True"

"And for that, I want you to lead the investigation and report to me"

Piers chuckled, "Me?"

"Yes, you. Any objection?"

"No! I only thought you'd lead the way as always…"

"You're my second in command and I trust your skills. It's about time you start opening your wings and show me what you got"

"I will do that, Sir and I won't disappoint you!"

Piers wasn't aware of Chris' real intentions, but the former S.T.A.R.S. member and the legendary Christopher Redfield was digging his departure from the field.

Thirteen years have passed since Raccoon incident. Thirteen years focused on the war against the bioterrorism. Thirteen years spent on fields. Aging. Not living, basically only surviving.

That was not the life that captain had imagined for himself. Not that he had a planned life before that event, but he never imagined to be fighting against such creatures and turn that fight into his living. The max he had thought he'd be fighting was dirty dealers, crime kings and those sorts. Nothing like zombies and b.

Thirteen years later he was still there, after losing so many people in Raccoon. In the bioterrorism.

He was getting tired of that.

He was aging.

He lost Jill – his usual partner and best friend - for a few years and that shook him in a way he still felt it sometimes, especially when he paid visits at her in the lab of the BSAA. His close friend that used to be a vivid woman and strong-willed was now a lab rat. A shadow of the great fighter she used to be.

Then he almost lost his sister a few times - his precious sister. A part of himself. That always shook him hard and the last time, he got really worried. She was infected with the T-Phobos and still had it in her body. The way she was found when rescued after the island almost crashed him. He never thought his little sister – the main one he always had to protect – would stay at such condition.

Bioterrorism was draining his life. His friends. His family. His sanity.

40's were approaching. Maybe he was just having a mid-age crisis. Maybe he was just tired and needed a good vacation. Real entertainment. He didn't like therapy and only visited a shrink when he was ordered to.

He didn't know how long he could continue doing that.

More and more he thought about retirement.

But…

Would retirement make a difference in the hole he often felt in his chest?

(*)

Back to his cabin, Chris sat on his chair and rested his back as he turned to stare out the window. The camp. The training soldiers.

He turned the chair again to the desk. On the table there was a frame. A frame of Claire. He unlocked one drawer and took another frame from it. A frame of him holding a fish when he was in his twenties.

That was a good day. He missed that fresh life style. He worked hard, but played harder. He felt he lived. He had a good and normal life.

He was also more temperamental and exploded easily – just like Piers.

Thinking better, maturation had made something good for him, especially about superiors. He always had problems with authority since he thought he was a person. Losing his parents only made it worse.

But he made through it. They did. He and Claire made it.

Although he felt more lonely now than before. he became more selective as well, especially about female companions.

Until he met Kate. A girl he would never choose freely and ended up choosing. Irony of life.

He was still uncertain of his feelings for her. He had no doubts about the attraction he felt for her, but…something didn't seem to fit.

She was a nice girl and a good company – and fucker – but something was missing. Mismatch.

If life was simpler and it was given him the option to choose, he surely would choose Angelina as she matched that guy he missed about himself, or maybe he would still have doubts after experimenting Kate's sex appeal.

He frowned. Sometimes he felt bad thinking of her in such a sexual way. She obviously was more than just a good fuck, but he didn't seem to be able to separate that trait from her personality.

That's why life wasn't any simpler. There was always space for doubts.

He turned on the computer screen and started googling camping locations as he recalled Eliza's words.

Nothing else but himself stopped him to connect with that guy from the picture. That would be the encounter of the "old" young Chris and the older Chris.

The search was interrupted by the call of his chief from the human resources asking him to go to his cabin for a conversation.

Preoccupation put him anxious and the heavy conscience of the lunch break haunted him.

That girl was really driving him crazy, and he couldn't really blame her. He was the one who started it all…

Inhaling deeply and sweating cold, Chris Redfield kept his composure. He was ready to be scolded. He deserved it. Being one of the founding members didn't give him the right to fuck in the office during the shift – not even after it.

He entered the cabin and sat on the seat before the desk of the man watching him with a serious demeanor. They greeted politely.

"The reason I called is to talk about your personal assistant miss Katerina…"

Chris swallowed at the mention of her name due to being anxious and a part of him embarrassed for what they had done.

"And the return of your old personal assistant Greta"

"Alright"

"As you may be aware, Greta will return to work next week and Katerina will take back her old position at the reception"

Chris disguised it but he had forgotten that deadline, "Yeah, I know"

"I will have this conversation with Katerina as well, but I wanted your opinion first so I can make a better decision after I talk to her"

"Sure, what would you like to know?"

"Her skills, her conduct, how has been her progress, do you have observations to point out? Are you satisfied with her work?"

Chris cleared his throat, it was time to separate the boyfriend from the boss, "I'm very satisfied with her work. I can say she was beyond my expectations in organizing things and solving matters with or without my presence. I have nothing to complain about her conduct…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt but you can say that even about the argument she had with Agent White?"

"Yes. That argument was a personal matter between me and Agent White, despite it happened inside work, it had nothing to do about it and the proper measures were taken for both parties"

"Continue"

"About Kate's skills…she has many talents. She has a great communication skill, writing, she's very attentive and knows how to work in team when necessary. She's good dealing with people. She learns fast and she's almost a perfectionist about her work. She learns from her mistakes and she achieve better positions as she's very engaged with work and ascension."

"So are you saying that if she's indicated to do an internal test for a vacancy in the administrative area, do you think she can deal with it if she passes?"

"I do. She's highly efficient. She just needs opportunities"

"I see…" the man said and cleared his throat, "Now I'd like to ask you a personal question but that has relation with work, so I'll really appreciate your honesty on the subject"

"Okay…"

"What's the status of your personal relationship with Miss Katerina?"

Not the first time Chris had to give explanation about dating a coworker. He knew that question would be made as per the rumors.

"Inside work, she's just my personal assistant and coworker"

"And outside?"

"It doesn't matter"

"That depends. As you may know we don't have a policy against romantic relationship between employees as long as it doesn't affect their work or that won't cause any inconveniency inside the organization. I just mentioned the inside commotion Miss Katerina had with Miss White, both women were related to you and as is of everyone's knowledge you had a public romantic relationship with Miss White at that time"

"Like I said, it was solved at the time. Both received proper penalties for their misconduct"

"So you deny any romantic involvement with Miss Katerina despite the evident close relationship you have as is of my knowledge that she lives with you?"

Chris smirked, "With all the respect Sir, but this is not your business or the organization's. whatever I do outside those gates is my own business and surely that doesn't affect my job and my contribution for the organization. I have a long history that proves that. You cannot judge the long years I'm here, working nonstop, only because of one single event that was much of a big deal. Nobody here is perfect. In eight my personal life never affected anyone here"

"I'm not questioning your reputation"

"If feels like you are!"

"I just want to know if all the things you said are words of a boss or of a boyfriend's"

"Obviously it was a boss' words. I will repeat myself, from those in, Katerina and I are just coworkers! If any inconvenient like that happens again, you'll have all the right to take your measurements on whoever does it, and I'm not saying it just for me and her, I'm speaking generally about everyone"

"I understand Mr. Redfield and I apologize for making you feel questioned on your reputation, it was not my intention. It's unquestionable the contribution you have given to the BSAA and to the world. All I wanted to know you have told me and you may inform Miss Katerina about the new vacancy she might apply if she's interested"

* * *

 **Chris' Cabin**

Chris returned to his cabin and walked the corridors with an annoyed expression. Katerina hadn't returned from the lunch break. He opened the door and made a stop as he saw a female sitting on the couch.

"Claire!" he said in surprise

"If the mountain doesn't go to Muhammad, Muhammad goes to the mountain"

He chuckled as they greeted with a hug.

"How's everything going?" she asked as they sat headed to his desk

"Basically the same. You?"

The short haired redhead studied her brother's expressions. He clearly seemed pissed, "I guess I got you on a bad time"

"You'll never be on a bad time, sis. I'm glad you're here"

"Yeah, it's been a while"

"Is it a quick visit or are you staying longer in town?"

"It's a quick visit, but why not visit my favorite brother?"

He giggled, "Do you have another?" he said jokingly

"I hope not" she replied with a smile

"Good! I'd hate to share your attention more than I already do"

She laughed.

"So, why are you here?"

"I came to ask you to know if I have permission to visit a friend"

"What friend? Piers? You know where his cabin is…"

She rolled her eyes, "No, not Piers. He's not a friend…"

"I hope he's not a boyfriend either"

She laughed, "What?"

"I'm just kidding. He's a good guy. He's one of the few – I guess only one – I wouldn't mind you having something…"

She chuckled, "Sorry. Not gonna happen! I'm not into younger guys"

He smirked, "Right!"

"You silly bear!"

"Who's the friend you want to visit?"

"Jill! Isn't it obvious?"

"Oh…right…but you know I'm not the guy for you to ask permission to see her…it's not my department"

"Yeah, but you know everyone and the one responsible to allow visits for her"

"And you want to use my influence to do that?"

"Of course, I guess my protective brother would like to see me happy…"

"The sister's emotional blackmail power."

"Yeah, it's good to use that sometimes. You pay her visits, right?"

"Yeah, but I work here"

"So, is that a yes?"

He chuckled making a face. He would never say no to that request.

She continued studying him, "You're not really going to tell me what happened, will you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't try to mislead. I know you all my life! I can tell by only looking at you or by your voice tone when you're not in a good day"

"My day was awesome!"

"Until you returned to the cabin now…if I'm not the bad time, something happened that hit your nerves"

"You won't stop the pressure, will you?"

She shook her head with a sassy expression, "You know I won't"

He let out a long sigh, "You know how much I hate when someone comes to me from the corners, trying to obtain some info…come on, if you want to say something, say it to my face! And that's what just happened with a superior…"

"Oh, the old story of arguing with superiors…some habits never get old!"

He shrugged, "You're not here to talk about me, are you?"

"Now I am…what was the reason for the argument?"

That moment they heard knocks on the door and Chris gave permission for the person to open the door. It was Kate. She couldn't disguise the freezing when she spotted the female Redfield looking back at her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt and about my delay… I just…wanted to inform you I'm already back. If you need anything…"

"No problem and I want to talk to you later"

"Alright…" Kate replied

"Oh no, if you have to talk you can do it now. i don't want to bother your work" Claire said

"No. we talk home" he replied

"Okay… Do you want anything, a snack or something? Coffee?"

"No, I'm fine. Do you want to eat anything or drink?" he said and turned to Claire

"No, I'm fine."

"So… may I return to my desk?"

"Yeah, but uh…before you leave, I want to introduce you. Claire this is Kate, and Kate…this my sister"

Kate made a face with a sort of relief, "Oh, your sister… Hi! My name is Katerina but everyone calls me Kate. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Kate"

Kate looked at Chris, waiting for his guidance.

"You can leave. We all talk better later"

"Alright…" Kate said heading to the door and closing it

Claire immediately turned her face to him, "Home? Am I missing something here?"

"Didn't you want to know the reason of my argument?"

"I'm not following you brother…"

"Kate…she's the reason of the argument"

Claire made a face, squeezing her memory, "Kate…the one Cathy…"

"Yeah, the one and only, Kate"

Claire frowned processing things. She already had a bad impression on Kate from the time Cathy vented with her about the situation with the new secretary and Kate's intimate relationship with Piers. And now finally getting to know Kate in person, she felt some disturbing feeling.

"So you cheated on Cathy?"

"No I didn't!"

"Isn't Kate the one Piers was having something?"

Chris let out a sigh, "Yeah"

"And now you and her…"

"Yeah, your new sister-in-law"

Claire didn't know how to react.

"I know it's complicated but…"

"You don't have to give me explanation about your personal life. It's a complicated background, but…if she makes you happy…so be happy…"

"Thanks…and I do hope you two get along. I know you adored Cathy, but Kate is cool. For now you have this impression on her for knowing partly the complicated background"

"Let's see…but why didn't you introduce her as your girlfriend when she was here? If I were her I'd get pissed at you for that omission if you two have an official relationship"

"She knows the rules at work and we are at work. And like I was telling you, she's the reason of my 'warm' conversation with the superior… You know gossipers… and as she lives with me for almost two months…"

"Two months? And you never told me anything?"

"it's not what you and everyone else think…it started as a charity and as we grew closer feelings started coming…but only after Cathy and I broke up…although people don't see it that way… the only truth is that Kate and I only started dating this morning. Before that, there was nothing. No cheating. No relationship. No intimacy – uh…except in one night in Bohma – but it wasn't serious…"

Claire gave a shrug, "Okay…"

"Yeah and that's what I want to talk to her at home…I think it's better not confirmation our relationship for the public yet"

"I see. Besides, it's too recent…there's a lot in game, right?"

"Yeah!"

Claire kept her reservations to herself. She didn't want to take bad judgments on the new girl in her brother's life. Hopefully the bad impressions she had on the brunette were only due to not really know her and not an alarm of her intuition.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin, Xaori and scropion** **for the reviews! :D**


	62. My Name Is Katerina

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **B.S.A.A. Lab**

Since the rescue two years prior, Jill Valentine remained in the lab for countless tests. Two years full of bruises on her arms due to the needles to take out her blood. Five years since she lost her life. The presumed death seemed to make sense as for the way she has lived since the night at the Spencer Mansion.

The small garden in the surrounding area of the lab and the window of her room were her only options to keep in touch with nature during the timed permission she had to spend sitting on the bench near a tree.

She never thought that after becoming a cop to not follow her father's steps and fighting against B. would lead her to live life in imprisonment.

The once brave woman was now someone with a pale skin full of bruises. Thinner and blonde. She didn't recognize herself anymore when she looked at the mirror. Somehow presuming her death made sense as the old Jill Valentine was gone.

Or maybe buried.

Somewhere…very deep inside of her.

She was sitting on the same bench when she spotted a familiar redhead passing the door. She frowned as the one had a short hair.

She squeezed her eyes to see it better and the greet in form of smile definitely confirmed her that it was her longtime friend Claire Redfield.

There was a long while since those two hadn't met.

There was only a short time since Jill was allowed to received visits.

The women almost sisters-like hugged for a long time.

It was good feeling another skin and body heat. It made her feel – alive.

The longtime free spirited friends hugged in a sort of mix of consolation after such troubled times that had lived lately. One was a lab rat. The other a "free" rat with a virus imprisoned in her system.

Two rats sitting on the bench.

"You with a short hair!" Jill commented in surprise

"Yeah…I needed some changes and you turned a natural blonde…I so envy you!"

Jill jiggled, "No, you don't"

They laughed.

"Did they tell you when you'll get into rehab? I mean…outside?"

Jill shook her head with a sigh, "I'm waiting that permission…for now I'm only allowed these visits and you're the first outsider…besides Chris, but he doesn't count right? He 'lives' here too" she said with a jokingly way

Claire smiled, "I'm not that sure he 'lives' here anymore"

Jill made a face, "Why? Do you know anything I don't?" she asked in curiosity

Claire nodded in confirmation, "I just learned it! I'm still processed the surprise"

"What happened? Is he going to be a father or something?"

Claire chuckled, "Not as far as I know"

"So what is it?"

Claire looked to the sides, "Do you wear a mike or is there any around?"

"No…Why?"

Claire leaned closer and whispered, "I just met my 'sister-in-law'…"

"What? And why are we whispering?"

"He doesn't want to confirm the 'rumors'…"

Jill made a confused face, "I'm not following you...Is it related to Cathy and the other girl…Kate?"

"Yes, Kate! My new sister-in-law…his words!"

"What? Are you serious?"

"I heard it loud and clear"

Jill couldn't disguise her surprise. She didn't know Chris' personal assistant in person but she heard some rumors through gossip people, especially after the fight. And even Chris commented – vented - with her during some of his visits a while ago. Even though not knowing the brunette she had only seen in pictures, she knew about Kate's (in)fame.

Jill knew Chris for a long time and she still recalled the "rebel" phase he lived when they met. He had been discharged for insubordination from the Air Force before being scouted for the S.T.A.R.S., And during the short period they worked there, she knew about some of his adventures some "types" of women.

He was an impulsive and temperamental young man living his freedom to date –bang- whoever he wanted. She even remembered "Pinky", a stripper he occasionally banged for fun or to get info about dirty people. In a small town, night people served well a resource for such things.

She knew her longtime friend and partner had a dark phase in his past but that never affected his work, his achievements and his professional reputation. He was who he was and what his name meant. Though, he was also a man and had the right to have a personal life without people nosing it.

"Do you know her?" Claire asked bringing Jill back from her thoughts

"Kate?" Jill asked

Claire nodded in confirmation.

"Not in person. I saw the pictures she tagged Chris and she has a public profile, so I ended up taking a peek on the girl people used to talk about."

"I see…I guess I should've done the same before coming"

"She wrote a declaration for him but denying they were romantically involved"

"Actually he said they started it today, but there was no romantic involvement during his time with Cathy"

"He told me the same the last time we talked. Besides…I don't know her so I can't judge her. I know what people talk and trash talk…but I noticed usually women despise her and men desire her. She's beautiful and I'm not surprised with those reactions as I heard she doesn't wear panties…"

Claire made a face, "I met her and I'll be honest with you…I don't like her. I just met her and I don't like her. Maybe it has to do with the bad judgment I had on her when Cathy vented with me about the new whore. I tell you I never expected nor saw Cathy so bothered about a girl on Chris' life like she did when that girl showed up. I tried to be impartial like you because I only had Cathy's version and usually I thought she was just too jealousy, but then the new girl became the new secretary and Cathy became another woman and used to vent with me about Chris' rides with the poor girl that took bus to go to work…until the provocations Cathy said she used to deal with and how the young whore loved to play the victim. And so Chris took part on the young girl's side and that crashed her. She used to say Chris is enchanted and after knowing Kate in person, I kind believe it too. When I talked to Chris about Cathy's concerns he always dodged it and blamed Cathy's insecurity, but he was all compliments to the super efficient secretary."

"Enchanted? I used to bug him about young girls' effect on him. He got pissed"

"He does get pissed! I didn't even discuss with him about her. He's in that phase he won't see nor listen"

"Yeah, I agree. I did notice his excitement with her efficiency. Now seeing from that perspective… He never admitted he was into her. Not even to himself"

"Exactly! He's blind and deaf to everyone but her…he just got a fight for her…and with a superior!"

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. I saw his face when he entered the office, and that's why he doesn't want to go public about his relationship with her"

Jill didn't know what to say.

"I'm still processing things…I hope that all this bad feeling I have about her is just because of the bad comments Cathy used to make about her because in the end…what matters is his happiness, isn't it?"

"True but…you have a strong intuition and you can't neglect that either"

"But I have to…Jill…Chris is 'enchanted'. He didn't see what I saw"

"He's not enchanted…he's just 'thinking' with his other head…"

Claire chuckled, "Yeah, most probably that's the case!"

"Men…" Jill said with a shrug

"Other head or not…I hope Chris will make better judgments for himself as he naturally doesn't use his upper head much either"

Jill laughed, "Come on, don't say that. He's your brother!"

"That's why I'm saying that…I know my brother!"

"Jokes aside…there's nothing we can do now. Just watch. He suffered when he and Cathy broke up. Kate's fault or not…he's with her now and seeking to fill the hole he has. Plus, he's on the field for so long…he deserves a break from all of that and breath some normal life. He tried with Cathy and we saw how happy he seemed to be for having someone with him. It didn't work. Now he has Kate that is doing 'magic' in his life. Passing through all the trash talk and first appearances, maybe she's the one that will add happiness in his life…"

"Or bring more mess than she already did and finish messing him up…" Claire said with a bitter tone

"Geez, you're really negative about this girl"

"Jill…I saw details on her behavior in the one minute she was there with us. From the door when she opened until she left the cabin. I saw two different people on her"

"As in?"

"The girl who opened the door and entered the office was one. A serious, condescending and grumpy one. I fell the stabbing look on me. The girl from the moment he introduced me as his sister until the moment she left was a smiley, relieved and subordinate one. She couldn't even disguise it. I saw the difference of shades in a matter of seconds"

Jill remained mute.

"Chris complained about Cathy's jealousy, but in a matter of seconds, I hope, I really do hope I'm wrong about this…but I think Kate is not who she plays to be and I think she is as much jealousy as Cathy was… and that's my fear…Cathy was an older woman and more responsible, more mature and she lost control before Kate. Now I understand the 'looks' she used to tell me about…and from what I saw in Kate's eyes, she's trouble! Chris sees her as a victim, but look what this 'victim' has already caused in few months! Imagine what she can do when she gets power for being with him? I hope she's not the passive-aggressive controlling type, but someone that is truly kind and supportive of my brother's happiness and not the cause of his corruption and breakdown."

There was a serious atmosphere between the women, "So we'd better keep eyes on her eyes as they seem to talk loud" Jill said easing the tension

Claire chuckled, "This was a bad joke, you know that, right?"

"I do…but I learned from the best"

Claire smiled sassily, "Now let's talk about you! Tell me how things between you two are?"

Jill let out a sigh, "There's nothing much to talk about it…Things are still the same. I'm here. He's there in D.C., probably having his adventures as I'm not naïve to believe he wouldn't do that and use his freedom to do his things…We talk online and that's it"

"Do you think he's waiting for you?"

"He says he is, but…I don't know…five years have passed since we were together… things changed and I know that. I know he moved on with his life during my 'death' and I don't blame him for that. And since we started talking again, I still keep telling him to not keep his happiness away from him and as per the current circumstances he has all the right to live his life, date other people, and fall in love…I won't judge him or get hurt…because…look where I am! What I've become! I have nothing to give him but some minutes or hours of chatting…he deserves more than that"

"And what does he say?"

"He skips it. He doesn't like when I say that, so I don't insist"

"Maybe he really is waiting for you…despite the 'adventures'…"

"I don't mind about his adventures…I won't ask him about it, but I want him to tell me if it happens that he meets someone and wants to be with her but doesn't do it because of me…I don't want to be the reason why he's not happy"

"I understand what you say, but it's Leon we're talking about! The guy that gets easily attached and doesn't let go! And he won't let go of you…unless you really want it"

Jill let out a long sigh and looked to a distant point, "That will be my only option if I stay here forever…"

Claire took her grip, "Don't say that. If you were supposed to be stay here forever, I wouldn't be allowed to be touching you like this…nor be sitting at your side like this…we'd be talking through a glass wall, and not in this fake garden…"

Jill smiled faintly. True words.

Those two women knew for a long time, although they didn't spend much time together back in the days. Yet, they always had a good time when they met. Years passed, they grew older and the circumstances made their encounters even more difficult, although they never stopped talking.

And now since Jill's return and after Claire's escape from Sushestvovanie, they finally seemed to make a better use of their time. That visit was just the beginning of a new cycle in their friendship.

* * *

She waited. Patiently. Like an obedient girl she waited. At home, while having dinner, she listened attentively and just like a perfect girlfriend she agreed with her boyfriend's terms about their relationship not going public so far.

Just like a good girl she didn't insist on the nosey superior subject, despite having her own reservations on the matter.

Just like a good girlfriend she treated her boyfriend with love and care the rest of the night. They talked about other things, including that being her last week as his personal assistant.

So much happened in three months. Though it seemed to have passed a longer time.

She made a massage to relax him. They had intercourse and they slept in her bedroom – as the usual. She still had reservations about sleeping on his bed and she waited the right time to tell him that.

Waiting was a virtue she had. She always had that trait. Patience is a virtue and she had plenty of it when she wanted to achieve something.

In the morning they went to work and as his best personal assistant, she served him fresh coffee as part of the daily routine and organized the agenda.

She stayed in her desk, waiting. Patiently. Thinking about the script she'd use at the right time. Outside she was the usual Kate, smiley and attentive. Inside she was boiling her speech.

Once upon a time she had been a very persuasive woman.

She didn't know it, but her inner side was "cooking" that outstanding skill she used to have.

And then the moment she so waited happened.

She stood up from her seat and arranged her uniform. That day she wore the gray uniform but different of the others who wore a white top, she kept her usual signature color: red. The gray business skirt and tuxedo with a red top. Black scarpin shoes. Loosen long wavy hair. Impeccable makeup. Bloody red lipstick.

She was ready.

She informed Chris about her absence and when she closed his cabin's door, she inhaled deeply and let out a sigh.

She kept her chin up as she walked the corridors. Her eyes ignored anyone in her way, they were too focused on her goal: the Mr. Wilson's office. Wilson. She kept it glued in her brain. The nosey "superior".

Her steps were firm, yet elegant.

Her straight spine gave her an imposing posture, although she kept a gracious look.

The coworkers watched her with curiosity. There was something different about "Kate".

She remained mute during her path. The coworkers remained oblivious to her eyes, but she knew they were watching her. Some even opened way for her to pass without her even saying a word.

The coworkers were like a queen's subjects. Some despised her. Some desired her. Some envied her. Yet, all of them watched her pass through them without a blink.

If only they knew who in fact was parading the corridors of the BSAA at that moment…

That moment Katerina ,"Kate", was not the one who sought for attention by her looks and sensuality.

That young woman parading with such a high confidence didn't seek for attention. She was the attention!

Reaching the dragon's dungeon, she didn't need to bother to knock and open the door herself, as someone else had just left the cabin and held the door open for her – a habit she was so used to see as her subjects used to make all the efforts for her once upon a time.

With the permission, she sat on the seat before the desk of the middle-aged man – Mr. Wilson she kept in mind all the time. She kept names! -.

Imposingly but elegantly she sat straight up. Her legs partly to the side, only crossed on the ankles' level. All movements millimetrically calculated to not show any private area, but still keeping her elegant femininity. Her eyes never left the man's.

The man watched the young lady before him through his glasses. He had no doubts she was one of a kind.

Politely they greeted each other.

He cleared his throat to start the conversation. Starting from her professional experience and scholar background. Then they passed to her experience at the BSAA.

She remained in her cool and restrained composure answering all his questions – waiting for the moments she'd have to speak out her defensive speech. She knew it would happen, from what Chris had told her, she knew she'd be questioned about the same matter, but different of Chris, she wouldn't just swallow it up. She was not that type.

"According to Mr. Redfield's evaluation report, he sees you have skills to continue increasing in your career and gave his indication for the vacancy in the Human Resources sector. He says you're a very detailed and attentive person, efficient, smart, of quick learning, communicative and with great skills of negotiation. Skills that fit the vacancy you're applying for. May I confirm your participation on the selection exam?"

"Absolutely"

The man marked her name on the computer. Closing Chris' report he turned his gaze at her once again, who remained staring him apparently calm.

"Miss Göbel, how do you describe your experience with Mr. Redfield?"

"The best. Chris Redfield is the best boss I've ever had. He taught me all the work he needed. He explained patiently all the tasks I had permission to handle if he wasn't around. He's a grounded man who understands his coworkers needs, and he always motivated me to go further. He has taught me a lot in many aspects."

"Is there anything would you change about the experience you had with him? I noticed your worked hours increased. Was that a problem for you?"

"No. I am where I am because of him who inspired me to give my best on everything. Working extra hours was not a task he put on me, I did it myself for my own necessity and to help him as I saw he needed it"

"I can see you praise him a lot…admire him"

"Yes I do. I can only be grateful for having this opportunity at his side. I've learned a lot about myself, about my skills. About many things. Working with him has been a bless that has opened many doors for me"

"I see… by being his personal assistant, makes you close. How this proximity affect your job?"

"It doesn't affect my job."

"What about your relation with the other coworkers?"

"It doesn't affect my relation with the others either"

"How not? It's in your profile a "misunderstanding" you had with Agent White a few months ago in the bathroom of the organization"

She remained her coolness. She knew this would be brought up, "Misunderstanding happen everywhere. It's a natural thing. That subject was solved back then and we were punished for the misconduct already"

"It was handled between the three of you. Not here"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Our department was supposed to be the one to give the proper measures for the situation…"

"What do you want to say Mr. Wilson? Could you be more clear?"

"I'm just saying Mr. Redfield didn't pass the real situation for us, which was the right thing to do. It's the rule."

She smirked, "So you're saying Mr. Redfield broke the rule and you didn't intervene on the matter because of his high rank, but now that you have the opportunity to face the weakest element of the equation, me…you want to punish me for something that happened a long time ago?"

"I didn't say I'll punish you. I only said the necessary measures weren't taken back then…"

"Meaning; firing me?"

The man made a face, "That could be one of the possibilities. Such a bad conduct is a reason for fair dismissal for the involved parties, but an investigation should've been conducted to know the reasons for the misbehavior and to know who started it. In your profile and agent White's is saying you both were warned, but it's a light penalty. It's reason for a reprimand in the least…"

"And that didn't happen because of Mr. Redfield's influence…and because you and everyone else think he protects me due to our proximity" she exclaimed noticing where the man wanted to lead the conversation

"I didn't say that"

"But you're implying! I can read between the lines Mr. Wilson. A distant subject being brought up to the table like this could only have this purpose…to investigate my life and Chris'!"

"Miss Göbel, you're taking it personal"

"It is personal!"

"It's not. Your updated file says your current address is the same as Mr. Redfield's. We don't need an investigation to know how close you two are"

She finally let out an annoyed sigh, "Ahhh, now I get it. You want to attack him through me. You want to put in question his reputation…through me! That's not going to happen Mr. Wilson! Not here, M _on Cher_. Not with me!"

"Miss Göbel…"

"Now you listen to me Mr. Wilson! I have heard you enough! What you're doing is wrong! What you're implying is wrong! You and everyone else are wrong! All of you should be ashamed of doing and saying such things about such a man! You're just here because of him! All that say shit are here because of him! His intense work and dedication keeps this place running. Christopher Redfield's professional reputation is unquestionable! He has abdicated of his life to keep you and everyone else safer! You're sitting comfortably here because of him! In all the years he has dedicated his life to fight the bioterrorism, to keep the world safer have never been out shadowed by his personal life. You, his coworkers, who are like his family, should be ashamed for saying such things!

I won't let you throw his name on the dirt through me! I'm not this kind of woman you stupid people think I am! My name is Katerina O'Regan Von Göbel. I am no man's carpet and much less of Christopher Redfield's. I may have come from the suburb, but I am no low rank! I am here for my own skills and not for being Chris Redfield's mistress! I have never been that! I do not have such a competency to be the other one! Much less of Christopher Redfield who is such a distinct, loyal, worthy and honest man! You should be ashamed to think so badly about him. I am not under his wings. I am his wings and I defend his integrity with my all, with my best!

You want to know something about us Mr. Wilson? I will tell you something Mr. Wilson! Chris Redfield is the most honorable man inside this damn building. There are hundreds of people working here, hundreds – of snakes – of people and only one. ONE, extended his hand for me. Do you want to know why we are so close? I tell you why! Because more than a boss, he's a friend! A family! All the others are like his family – snakes – and they trash talk about him like that. A bunch of ungrateful and traitors! I am tired of people talking shit about us. I am tired of these questionings. You want to know something, just ask! Don't hide behind a desk and a book of rules to spill out the venom. If anyone else had done for me what he did, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Chris Redfield is such a noble man, with such a big heart that he put his name on the line when all he was doing was just good things. Charity! I was homeless and came to work with a suitcase and no one. NO ONE else bothered to ask me what happened. Not a single coworker bothered to ask me if I needed help, but he did! He noticed me. I had anywhere else to go, but public shelters for a limited time because with the salary I have, I couldn't afford a decent living in such a desperate moment. I even asked him if I could sleep at work for some time because I had anywhere else to go. He offered me his home for a limited time. Not because I was his mistress because that is something I have never been to him, but because of his big heart and for being a friend. For knowing what living with necessity is! He was the only real friend among hundreds of people….but it's easier for people trash talking instead of asking the truth. It's easier to judge instead of helping. People should know better his background before saying crap!

That's the truth you wanted Mr. Wilson. The truth that gossipers and nosey people like you never bothered to ask with honesty and bravery. Outside those gates it's not anyone's business, but from those gates in, Christopher Redfield's reputation is intact! You want to fire me, fire me! But not before you redeem yourself with Mr. Redfield for your misjudgments!"

Katerina stood up defiantly and without even asking for permission, she left the cabin without looking back. Leaving the mute man behind.

As she walked the corridors, coworkers who had heard her statement pretended to work. Some were embarrassed. Some didn't have reaction. Some just watched the woman in gray walk hurriedly like a tornado with loud and firm footsteps, making her way back to her desk.

Chris' cabin door was open, and he saw the moment Katerina returned to her desk. He saw her arranging her belongings hurriedly, which got his attention. He walked over her.

"What happened?" he asked noticing her pissed behavior

"Packing…I'm going to be fired"

"What? Come here" he said leading her to inside the office and closed the door, "Explain me things"

She let out an annoyed sigh, "I lost my mind…I couldn't let this shit talking continuing and your reputation be questioned because of me. My mistakes, my responsibility. Not yours. It's about time I pay for my actions and do something good for you…"

"What are you talking about?"

"All the things he asked you, he asked me. He talked about proper penalties and so I took the opportunity to defend you. I don't have a career, but you do and it's unfair what they have said about you, especially because of me…this would be my final week anyways…so I vented. But don't worry, I didn't say anything about our romance…I was careful about that"

He noticed she was shaking. She was affected by the heated conversation with Mr. Wilson, and that triggered his protective side, "I will talk to him…" he said caressing her grip

"No. Don't do anything. It's the right thing to happen…I don't know if I can continue working with you and hide all this happy feelings I have for you. I don't want to hide this love… I want to shine and explode in happiness! With me out of here, we won't need to hide anymore. My cycle here is concluded, while ours is just getting started."

"Did he fire you?"

"No, but if he won't, I quit."

"But Kate…"

She put her finger on his lips, "Working here was the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm so grateful to have you in my life… I don't want to lose that and get disgraced by the others. So it's better me be out and get another job. They need you here. I need you home." She smiled kindly

"I'll miss you here…"

"And I'd miss you anyways back at the reception or anywhere else…but either ways would be a torture pretending I don't love you…in fact, it's not like they don't know it!"

"You love me?" he said in surprise, "Isn't it too soon for that?" he said rationalizing

"Don't blow my candle, you don't have to say it back… but it's how I feel and I don't want to be forbidden to say that…"

"I wont forbid you. I wasn't reprimanding you…I was just…"

"Taken aback. I know. It came out of nowhere for you…and for me. maybe it's too soon in the calendar, but…we have been through many things already since we met and…and in the moment I let you in, I'm taking it all. Not just sexually speaking…"

They giggled.

She cupped his face while he held her by the waist, "I mean it! I'm taking it all. The good and bad that might come. Life is not a fairytale but I won't rationalize much about the good things I want to give you and be for you. Maybe one day you'll tell me you love me, maybe you wont. I know that's not your style saying such things, but I'll remain attentive to your actions that scream for you"

He smiled softly, staring deep into her eyes.

"Maybe you might be as much scared as me, but I don't want to run away from that anymore"

"I never felt this before…"

"Me neither"

"So it's the two of us knowing each other"- again -, "With all the good and bad…" – again –

"It is…I'm frightened but I so want to shine!" –again-, "I don't want to fail with you" –again-

"Fail?" he whispered in confusion

She leaned closer, staring him with begging eyes, "My love…" she whispered

Staring back at her, he was hypnotized. He longed for that gaze for a long time without even being aware of it. Infatuated – like he hadn't been in a long time.

Leaning his face closer to hers, "Kate…" he whispered before kissing tenderly her lips.

Behind the fierce makeup, red lipstick, he found the "Kate" his soul was looking for.

That was the first tender kiss those souls were finally having after a long time.

Maybe things would be different this time. Maybe just a few things would be different this time. Maybe all things would be the same this time, but in reversed roles. Maybe same roles.

But that only time would tell.

For now, all they had was a longing tenderness for one another.

.

.

.

" _I argued with my father again. He is still against my marriage to Christopher. He alleges Christopher is not of my level. He is just a simple stupid knight._

 _My mother is a useless submissive who has no face against him despite telling me "I know you love him". Yet, her knowledge always comes with a "but" in the end.  
_

 _Ha! If only they knew the truth about the emerald necklace Christopher gave me. If only papa knew the truth about its origin. He would be surprised!_

 _But I made a promise to Christopher about that secret, so I am sticking to it, although sometimes I feel like breaking this silence so I finally have my father's permission to marry him. I am almost on a verge of despair!_

 _But I will not open my mouth about that no matter what! I am good in keeping secrets, especially secrets of the ones I love and care._

 _If only they knew I already am carrying his child._

 _I still do not know how to tell him about my pregnancy._

 _My petulant behavior will not help my credibility that in the only time we made love I got pregnant with his child._

 _I know he will doubt of my word._

 _What was I thinking when I accepted bedding with another man? Even if that man is the future king._

 _I cannot go back in time. All I can do is to take in all my regret and move on as if nothing happened._

 _I know I cannot count with Lucy's help on the lie about "my menstruation" on the bed sheets as my parents know my cycle is like a clock that never gets delayed. Never!_

 _Christopher's absence does not help much either. Luckily I do not have many symptoms and the ones I have I manage to control, but it is a constant concern of mine not eating properly to keep my body in shape._

 _I eat at night when everyone is sleeping, and only fruits and salad so I will not gain much weight. I hope my baby is not affected by it._

 _My first child._

 _I failed giving Christopher my virginity. I cannot fail giving him his first child. Our first child._

 _Gosh, help me!_

 _Soon I will not be capable of hiding the belly bump._

 _If there is a God…_

 _Please, let me be a family with the man of my dreams. It is all I beg for!_

 _My love._

 _Christopher my love._ "

* * *

 **mon cher = my dear. Kate said that with sarcasm.**

 **Thank you Pin and scropion** **for the reviews! :D**

 **Okay...so now we're starting to see Katarina's influence on Kate's personality. Is that a good thing or not? Let's see! xD  
In the other hand we see a subtle side of Christian taking over Chris...which now just made me wonder, is Christian capable of loving Katarina? O.O as for now we know Christopher and Chris cannot do that at all.  
Maybe Christian could be the missing piece to the puzzle...hummm (that's a good idea by the way...more and more I myself get to know possibilities of my own story lol) xD**

 **Stay tuned for more of my crazy ideas!**


	63. Chapter 63

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _Time moves in one direction. Memory in another." William Gibson_

* * *

" _I saw her._

 _I saw her…_

 _The girl on the pink dress._

 _So beautiful. Outstanding. Glamorous._

 _The girl Christopher runs away from._

 _It's not the court._

 _It's her._

 _The reason why he doesn't want to return._

 _I can feel it. He won't admit it._

 _I have this feeling that doesn't go away. I could read the fear in his gaze. He couldn't disguise the fear of being caught – by her._

 _I always knew he had something to hide. I always wondered if there was a girl._

 _Handsome men like him don't seem to stay single for long. It's unlikely not having anyone crushing them._

 _Either ways, I seem to have discovered a secret of his. I'm not really surprised. It's too good to be true, me, this pathetic girl, being the only girl in a handsome man's life._

 _For now I enjoy his company and love. I'll live things I've never lived before. but one day…_

 _One day I know there won't be me by his side._

 _It doesn't matter how much he denies it…I know, I feel it… I'm not His one._

 _Now after seeing the pretty girl… I feel worse…for loving a forbidden man for me._

 _This tale was too good to be true and eternal_ …"

Sitting alone in the middle of the night in her office, a tear cored down Angelina's face as she dig more the past and read the personal archives of Angelique in the flash drive Lionel left for her among other secret files she still hadn't had the courage to read.

At that point of her life, Angelina was starting to relate even more to the famous 18th painter.

Despite the smile she always kept on her face and the non-problematic life she had, inside, she didn't feel that way. Inside, she was a mess.

She wasn't even 30 and she had already travelled the world. She wasn't 30 and she was already a mother. She wasn't 30 and she had a good domestic partner. She wasn't even 30 and her artistic career was rising in Edonia and Bohma. Her talent at times was compared to Angelique's. She wasn't 30 and she had accomplished many things most people don't in a lifetime. Though she had so many doubts and at times she felt locked in chains. Especially about her mother and George…

She often felt bad for feeling that way about them. They were good people and they were good to her. They always gave her support in everything she wished and achieved. Yet, at times she felt suffocated by their presence. She was ashamed for feeling that way and hated herself for feeling like an ungrateful person and selfish for wanting a freedom she couldn't name.

But she had Olivia, a toddler that depended on her, and the little light of her life. She felt bad that her selfishness could affect the little girl in staying away from her carrying grandmother and father if she ever tried to seek the so wished "freedom".

She had a dream family. Supportive and peaceful. Not perfect of course. Yet, they couldn't give her what she wanted.

Her dilemma got worse the day she learned of Lionel's death. Her heart was still in grief. At the Lake House and at his company she felt – free. He never judged her and always listened to her attentively and warmly. His jokes and his positive energy always eased the dark inner aura she felt at times. She missed him and felt orphan of his advices.

In those two years she had the chance to spend hours talking to him about everything, she finally felt understood and not judged, or like to not have to keep people's – her mother and George – expectations. She felt empowered to live the life she wanted. To seek the truth she needed. To live the adventures she didn't. To feel the "love" she didn't.

Lionel knew about it. He knew how attracted she was to Chris Redfield and how ashamed she felt of herself for thinking of a man that wasn't George.

A forbidden love. A forbidden adventure.

And now, more than never, Angelina could relate to Angelique. Chris/Christopher was forbidden for her because of Kate/Katarina.

Yet, she felt more like a "coward", different of Angelique that had the guts of living that forbidden love and enjoy the adventure as much as it lasted and live all the consequences it had.

She still couldn't forget that almost kiss they had…

Knowing the past served as a big break in her impulses. She just couldn't repeat the same "mistakes" of the past.

The more you know the more you owe.

And she knew too much. She didn't know all – yet – though she knew enough to not repeat the cycle that had to end. A cycle she knew existed in the least since the 14th century when "she" had a contribution on Christian and Katherine's separation and eventual deaths.

Gathering all the strength she didn't know she had, she sacrificed her own wishes – again – and told "her man" to stay with the pretty-jealousy girl she couldn't stand.

She knew too much about them and somehow she had the obligation to let them live their complicated cycle.

And he obeyed to her suggestion. And her heart crashed the moment she saw the picture he had been tagged and the love declaration on the caption confirming their relationship just like Angelique's did when she saw Christopher and Katarina getting married.

And just like Angelique, she sunk in all the words she couldn't say, all the dreams she couldn't have, and tried to focus on what she had: her art and family.

Some cycles remain the same…

.

.

.

" _The past is never where you think you left it."_ Katherine Anne Porter

* * *

 **Flashback**

"What are you doing here this time of the night?" said Christopher in surprise for seeing Katarina at his door when it was already night

"We need to talk!" she replied coming inside without even be invited yet

"You shouldn't have come this time of the night. Your parents will get mad if the notice you're not home"

"I had no option. I could not take the risk of coming earlier and be seen this way" she said taking off the long black cloak she was wearing

Christopher frowned confused as he watched the back of the brunette. She was wearing a black dress, but from his sight position he hadn't seen any difference to what she could be referring.

"You have no idea how terrible my new routine have been as I live isolated in my bedchamber without letting anyone to see me completely, but Lucy. Not even my sister knows about this"

"What are you talking about?"

She let out heavy sigh and slowly turned around to face him as her hands we crossed at the level of her belly.

His lips parted. His eyes couldn't hide the shock on his face expression. The thin Katarina O'Gregon had a belly bump disguised by the larger frontal shape of her dress.

"It is getting more and more difficult to hide it… our baby"

"What? Our baby?"

"Yes! Why do you think I am here almost forcing you to listen to me after all these months you have avoided me?"

"It was just one time, Katarina!"

"No. it was just one nightstand but with several rounds!"

"Still!" he almost yelled in incredulity

"Still nothing! It is your child!"

"How can I be so sure? You were not a virgin. You bedded Charles!" he yelled, "And whoever else that only God knows…" he spoke with a smirk and immediately feeling a sharp pain on his face as a result from the hand of Katarina who slapped him

"Do not talk to me like that! Not you! I am not the whore you just implied and you know that!"

Regretted, "Pardon me…it's just that…"

"It is just nothing! I am telling you this child is yours and no one else's! Why would I lie about that?"

He shook his head remaining in silence. He still couldn't believe this was happening.

"I admit I bedded Charles only once! And it was a long time ago and I so regret it! And since then I have not bedded anyone else but you five months ago!"

"You should've told me before!"

"I have tried all the long, Christopher! You went to that campaign and stayed there for several months. You responded only one letter of mine in many I have sent you and what did you tell me in that stupid letter? It was a mistake what happened between us and that I should forget it…tell me now how can I forget it when I see daily the growing consequence of that delicious "mistake" of ours?

He bit his lips as he frowned. Thoughtful. Stunned.

For minutes they remained in silence. She sat on the couch as she waited his response.

"It will be a scandal…" he spoke with an unsteady voice

"I know and that is the reason why I need you by my side Christopher. My family is too traditional and I cannot be disgraced for being a single mother…I need you by my side to face them, my family…especially my father"

"Your father hates me."

"But you are the father of our child! You fight wars. You face enemies. You can face my father and stand up for our family. Is not family important to you like you said? I need you to take responsibility on your part in my condition. I did not do it alone and much less I did force you to sleep with me…"

"I know and certainly family is an important matter to me but…I don't think your father consent this marriage"

"If he will not, so we run away…"

"I can't do that!"

She gasped, "We marry in secret. He cannot force the divorce knowing I am already expecting our child. He will not want to be bad seen in the society for this particular detail and having a single mother and divorced daughter. It is better a knight than a disgraced reputation"

He looked down with a sigh. He wasn't against her idea, but still needed some time to figure things out and take his responsibility on the matter. He did say their nightstand was a mistake, but still he couldn't forget it. Katarina described it right. It was a delicious night. For a moment when they were loving each other he thought he was loving the woman of his dreams, but that would be too good to be true.

Maybe marrying her wouldn't be such a bad idea. He was single and free. It wasn't the marriage for love he always wished for deep inside him, but he wasn't the man to run away from his duties.

"Kat…" he whispered

"Chris…" she whispered back with a smile as she took him by the grip and guided it to her belly

His eyes widened and a smile escaped him, "What was that?"

"It is him moving"

"Him?"

"I feel it is a boy"

"A son…" he whispered emotional feeling the little life forming beneath her skin, moving nonstop as if reacting to daddy's presence

"Yes, a son! Christian…"

"Christian is the name is the name you picked for him?"

"Yes, the first name. you can pick the second or the first if you do not like Christian…"

"I loved it… Christian Henry"

"Henry?"

He nodded in confirmation, "I always thought of naming a son Henry"

"I loved it! Both names."

"Yeah…and what if is a girl?"

"I doubt it…I really feel I am carrying a boy"

"Well, I won't doubt a mother's intuition, but if it happens there is a girl, I have a suggestion"

"What is your suggestion for a girl's name?"

"Katherine"

 **End of Flashback**

Chris Redfield woke up looking to the sides as he recognized he was in the guest room of his apartment. Astonished. That was a new dream. A new crazy dream.

He looked down to see Kate sleeping, lying on her side. He stared her for some time. He thought those dreams had stopped, but now they seemed to have returned with a "new face", Kate's. The woman in black had her face features, despite at moments they didn't look like at all.

Letting out a sigh and trying to ignore it, he laid next to Kate in spoon. Gently, he passed his hand on her belly – still impressed by the dream. Unconsciously he searched for any omitted bump as he had the realization of the non-protected sexual activity he had with Kate. They never used one, and he often came inside her.

30 days unsafe.

Despite having an irregular cycle, she still had cycles. She should be close to a cycle soon, right? He thought making a math he had no sharp knowledge. Since they started working so close, he had only heard her complain of cramps once and he recollected her comment that she only had cramps the month she had a cycle. That was nearly 3 months ago.

She should be close to have a cycle, no?

Why was he so worried about it?

Just because the woman in the dream hid her pregnancy for five months, it didn't mean Kate would do the same, right?

Wait. Kate can't have children. Isn't it what she told him? No, it wasn't. She explained better to him her condition during the month they have been together. Despite the high possibility of not getting pregnant, it didn't mean she could never get pregnant. Though, most likely she couldn't carry it to terms as it would end up in miscarriage due to her womb's deformation.

So there was a chance of her getting pregnant with his child? Or even Piers' child…

He hoped to hear about a cycle very soon. He wasn't sure he could raise Piers' child.

"What the hell!" he snapped shaking his head for having such thoughts

The snap made Kate wake up with a start. She looked at Chris, "Are you okay?" she asked recalling from the light scare

"Yeah…Sorry for waking you up…"

"What happened?"

"Nothing…"

"You yelled"

He gasped, "Yeah, but don't worry about it… it was just a dream…Let's get back to sleep" he said lying on his sides

Even suspicious, Kate laid next to him, facing him.

"Kate…"

"Hum"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Why don't we sleep in my bedroom…in my bed?"

She swallowed thinking of the answer, "I knew this day would come…"

"I'm not complaining…it's just that I was wondering why you don't sleep there"

She bit her lips as she thought of a plausible answer without hurting him, "You know…how I think of starts, private places, and fresh stuff, home…"

"Yeah, you commented about something of that"

"Yeah…the apartment is yours but the moment I stepped in here, and especially when we decided to start our own story together…something in my head was triggered and I didn't know how to tell you this. It may sound stupid and shallow of me, but this is our home, despite not being my apartment, but it's here our private and special place that we can be who we are and do whatever we want despite the neighbors hearing things they shouldn't…" she started to laugh

He laughed too, "It happens…we hear them too sometimes…"

"Yeah, but probably is their revenge" she joked

He giggled, "Silly"

"Continuing…so this Our place. Our hide. Our home. Our nest, Our intimacy…but the thing that comes to my head is that your bedroom is Your bedroom. It's Your bed…and there is your spot where you…you shared yourself with others. In there you made plans with others. There you shared yourself with others…and in my head we are starting our own thing, our own plans, our own shares…and in your bed, that is such an intimate and private place, their energies still seem to lie in that…different of this bedroom that usually was empty, you even told me you had never slept here or even fucked here…I don't want to insult you or anything, nor judge you or your past until here, but…it's a thing that is in my head and I'm working on it to get over this stupid thought…"

"Wow, I thought you'd only it's your OCD"

"You can blame it as well…but I don't want you to get me wrong and don't think I'm telling you to buy a new place or a new bed…"

He laughed, "I was already planning of buying a new mattress"

"Are you mocking me or something?"

"No! I'm serious. Now you just gave me the final blow so I can provide it"

"Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"Because I may sound to be selfish and stupid…for wanting things just of our own, fresh things. A fresh start..."

He took her closer to him, "I understood your reasons. It's not something I'd think but I can see the sense of hygiene behind it, so I'm not surprised hearing that from you"

She hugged him back with a smile, leaning closer to him, "Thank you for understanding me. I hope to be reciprocate at the same level for you"

"You are…I never thought I'd say that but you have been one of the best things that happened in my life and the best of this year!"

"Really?"

He nodded in confirmation.

"Your words are mine…I don't believe I'm saying this as well"

"Our mismatch is a match"

"I guess it is"

They kissed.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Ask me"

"As you I took some days off that will start next Monday, but I'm thinking of spending a weekend on a campground. Would you come with me?"

She made a face, "Camping?"

"Yeah"

"On the ground, with bugs and all…and a river?"

He giggled, "Certainly there will have bugs and river, but no ground as I intend to make a reservation of a bungalow because of you"

"Ahh, thank you for the consideration. Now I like better the idea"

"So will you really come with me this weekend?"

"This weekend? I thought you'd make a reservation…"

"I did, I just need to confirm it for two"

"Ahh, so you already had this planned with or without me, huh?"

He laughed, "Sort of…"

"And all the romanticism went down the drain…" she spoke with a whine

He laughed louder, "No, it didn't" he said rolling over her and kissing down her neck

She pretended to fight it and play the hard one, "Really? Prove it"

"I will, but not now…soon…" he said making a mystery, and getting back to kiss her

She didn't fight anymore. His touches always melted her whenever and wherever he touched her. She kissed him back and opened her legs wider so he could fit perfectly his body onto hers. Soon after they were locked on each other as one.

.

.

" _What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined - to strengthen each other - to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories."_ George Eliot

* * *

 **Fleury Labs Main Office**

"How's the expedition to the cavern?" said a grey-haired and middle aged man, wearing a black suit, as he was on a video chat conference

"Nothing good, sir"

"Why?"

"We lost all the men that entered that cavern"

"How?"

"I couldn't see it properly, but I heard on the radio one of the men saying about traps inside of it that someone must have put in there to avoid anyone's entrance"

"So, are you saying those trips killed all those agents?"

"No sir…but The Creature did…"

"Creature? What creature?"

"I don't know sir…it's what I heard on the last transmission."

The middle-aged man frowned thoughtful, "So we can assume that a mysterious creature lives in that cavern and someone is covering it up, that's why the use of traps…"

"That's what it seems, sir"

"Alright… Take more men there to investigate it, I want to know what creature is that!"

"But sir…"

"It's an order!" the grey-haired man shouted turning off the connection

He rested his elbows on the desk and enlaced his fingers. A plaque indicated his name and position in the company: President Douglas Fleury.

Thoughtful. Intrigued. Many thoughts crossed his mind. It was said the Black Herb didn't exist anymore, but something inside him didn't believe it. As a pharmaceutical business man, he needed to find it for his researches before other "colleagues" could find it, but the recent report was a surprise for him as he didn't expect a cavern would have a security: _The Guardian of the Black Herb_.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **It's a Resident Evil fic after all xD Now we will get into that more and more.**

 **Guardian of the Black Herb...whaaat? O.O**

 **Chris Redfield more and more infatuated...aww so cute xD**

 **Angie feeling the blues :(**

 **And Kate starting her thing xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	64. Roots

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _God sometimes takes us to turbulent water, not to drown us, but to purify us."_

* * *

As days went by, the relationship of Chris and Katerina grew stronger. The happiness on his face and the aura of satisfaction became evident on the captain of the B.S.A.A. some close coworkers even commented with him about the change on the man's vibe.

Katerina enjoyed her time home. She made sure to keep it impeccable every single day, and even after considering discharging Eliza from the cleaning – mostly due to her jealous -, now she thanked Chris' objection on the subject as she wasn't having the best of the mornings as her period decided to show up and become another reason of her concern – the camp trip on the weekend. Fucking cramps!

On those days, she felt like doing nothing. Actually she couldn't do much besides remaining lying in bed fighting the intense pain that incapacitated her mobility and lowered her mood. She did like some rough sex, but that type of pain had nothing to do with her womb being cut open, her guts twitching, and the intense flow of blood.

Being jobless now seemed to be a bless as she didn't need to poison herself with meds to go to work in vain as meds didn't seem to have effect on that pain. Another punishment life seemed to have given her.

She was lying on her sides, with a pillow between her legs, on Chris' bed – their new bed. Yeah, Chris did buy a new mattress the following day of her "complaint". Chris and his impulsiveness to solve things. While she had the impulsiveness to keep things "clean" as while he went to work, she made a more extent cleaning on all the objects of his bedroom, from tiny to large, with alcohol and cleaning products, being careful to not destroy any of it. It was a habit she always had since she was a child. On that organization and cleaning matter her mother never had reasons to complain about her – maybe she could complain about the excess of it from time to time.

But, when it was about "home", she couldn't stand the thought of the other's "germs" infecting her territory. She knew people didn't have the same level of cleanness she had, so she made sure to have an extra care when other people visited them by washing her hands after touching anything or after shaking hands with anyone. Of course she learned how to disguise it from the others to not sound rude, but she just couldn't stand feeling her hands "dirty".

Now in the new territory, the sense of clean and dirty were more dissipated as she was more adapted to the new room after bringing all her belongings to her side in Chris' closet. Slowly her ground was settled.

As a housewife, Katerina used her time to study, on domestic chores and reading Katarina's story peacefully.

"I finished the cleaning. Do you want me to make the lunch?" Eliza asked as she went to check on Kate

"Yes, please. I'm very unwell to do anything"

"Did you already take any medicine?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't work anymore. My only option is to be strong and patient while this lasts"

"Is your period long?"

"Sometimes…there are times it lasts a week or more, or just three to five days."

"I see…"

"I hope this time it will last only one day! I don't want it to ruin the trip with my love. I don't want to bleed in the jungle and have all the bugs on me as if I'm a dead corpse"

"Eww, that won't happen! Let's pray it will be over…"

"By tomorrow!" Kate completed her sentence – "I have another reason why I want this over soon, I have my man to please!" she thought

Eliza nodded in agreement, "If is there anything I can do for you, just let me know"

"Thank you…ahh, could you please give me my laptop before you leave?"

"Sure"

Despite her current condition, Katerina was not the type to get pitying herself and thinking or talking about her pain. It wouldn't diminish, so to distract her mind, even if in a slower pace, she continued reading her favorite story.

And that habit of keeping the pain to herself was something she had in common with her current muse of inspiration: Katarina O'Gregon.

In those days of pain, she didn't feel hungry and used to eat much less than the usual.

In the afternoon, her reading was interrupted by the call of Chris. He was concerned. He had never seen her in such agonizing pain before.

And during that call, it seemed her pain had vanished completely as the happiness of talking to him and feeling his concern for her made her feel loved, his warmth.

After the call, she felt a sudden drowsiness wave. Putting the laptop aside, she lied on a comfortable position and fell asleep.

* * *

 _"Nothing is so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes. What madness is it to be expecting evil before it comes."_ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

* * *

" _It's been a week since Katarina told me about her pregnancy. A week that I still feel numb by the news… and concerned._

 _I know her father won't accept our marriage and constantly I think about running away with her and marry her in secret._

 _But whenever I consider this thought, a huge wave of fear takes over me. A fear of a tragedy. An announced tragedy._

 _Knowing her father's bad mood, I have no doubts that he could try to punish us somehow, and I don't my child to be punished by our mistakes._

 _I don't know why I have this thought that Katarina and I are not meant to be, despite we liking each other so much._

 _She makes me feel things I never felt before and among the good sensations she gives me and the "happiness", I don't even know how to name it…there it comes a huge sense of fear mixed with all the good things she makes me feel. I don't know what that means._

 _I don't think I love her now, as I believe love comes with the time, but I have no doubts I could love her. No doubts._

 _I know she loves me. I don't have any doubts of it either._

 _I tried to fight it, but I ceded, and now she's pregnant. With my child._

 _After seeing it and feeling it moving gave a new sense to my life._

 _But it also gave an extra addition to this fear of mine._

 _It's a forbidden fruit that came from a forbidden love._

 _Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve love… I don't know why…_

 _And lately I can't stop thinking about that famous tale of the Drowned Lovers…_

 _I don't want to have their fate…_

 _But it's what I feel about my union with Katarina…_

 _I fear our union will bring the tragedy just like the drowned lovers did. And they lost it._

 _I always dreamed of having a family. And now that I'm close to have it, I feel I don't deserve it._

 _Running away is not a solution. I don't want my child growing up with fear of being caught._

 _Rules exist to be obeyed._

 _And obeying rules is what I do for a living._

 _This crossroads between love and fear is driving me insane._

 _Katarina is fearless and that trait is something I admire about her. She's willing to fight for our love and face all the consequences…while I'm not so sure this is so necessary when our child's safety is involved. But I also don't want to lose it._

 _The rules of this society seem to separate us anyways. And I don't want it._

 _I want to see my child being born, growing up. I want to be part of his life – as Kat thinks it's a boy. Boy or girl, it doesn't matter. I already love him or her._

 _I don't know how Kat manages to hide it from everyone. I know it's not easy, especially when she looks so radiant than the usual and so beautiful pregnant with My child, My son!_

 _I never thought Kat could get more beautiful than she already is. I don't know her secret to this, but I know I love it. Her hype infatuates me. Her femininity enchants me. Her touches melt me._

 _I thought love was supposed to makes us feel like flying and radiant._

 _Not fearful…_ "

(*)

 **Flashback**

It was night. Christopher woke up with the loud knocks on the door and Katarina screaming his name. He put on a robe and climbed down the stairs to open the door.

He had barely unlocked the door when she pushed the door hurriedly.

"Change your clothes. We have to leave now!" she said in between chokes

"What?"

"Move Christopher! We do not have much time!"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Christopher just do it please. I do not feel well and much less for questionings. Now please, let's go!"

"I'm not going anywhere! Now tell me what's going on!"

She rolled her eyes impatient as she let out a heavy sigh, "We do not have much time. I fought with my father"

"Again? I told you I will to talk to him tomorrow"

"It is too late. He would not listen to you"

"I need to take the shot…"

"I am telling you, he will not…"

"Why not?"

"Because he arranged my marriage to Fleming"

"What?"

"We have to go Christopher! The Fleming's will arrive tomorrow and my father already arranged the announcement party for the day after tomorrow behind my back!"

"I can't leave anywhere Kat. I can't break the king's trust on me. He just promoted me…"

"We marry and we return. I already asked Lucy to arrange everything!"

"Kat… you're pregnant! The moron Fleming won't marry you like that"

"But our son's life is in jeopardy!"

"Your father still don't know?"

"Of course not! I would be dead by now! it was dark already and the darkness disguised my black dress, so he did not see it yet"

"Kat… I don't think we need to run away. Your father won't force you to marry another man when you're already pregnant with someone else's child. It's illogic!"

"That is where you are wrong my love. The deal my father made with the Fleming's is coming above anything! When he learns about my pregnancy two things might happen: he kills me or he gives our son to adoption. Either ways, our son is danger and so is our love! And I cannot live without our son! I am facing hell for him, so could you please do the same if you really care about our son? I think he deserves more your loyalty than the king…"

He frowned for a few seconds, "You're right! We run, we meet the priest to make our union official and then we return, right?"

She nodded in confirmation still not feeling well due to a backache that was increasing.

The pain became more intense. Katarina couldn't hide it anymore as they walked to the stables to take Christopher's horse.

The animals were restless as if they reacted to the energy around them.

Christopher tried to aid Katarina as he could.

"No…it is too soon…" the young girl spoke in between sobs as she realized the cramps were in fact contractions and the amount of blood loss confirming that their baby was about to be delivered and with no chance of surviving at just 22 weeks.

Christopher watched their premature son come out from her. He took the tiny being quickly in his hands without minding about all the blood on him. Miraculously he still breathed, yet with a lot of difficulty.

Katarina had a mix of feelings if she wanted to see him or not, but in the end she asked to see him while he still breathed.

"He has your lips…" she spoke in sobs while she caressed the struggling baby

He was so tiny and thin. The cramps ceased, however the biggest ache was just getting started.

For 3 miraculous minutes they had their son Christian with them. Their first-born.

For 3 minutes they were parents to a baby boy. She was always right about her feeling.

For 3 minutes the fruit of their love lived.

For 3 minutes they felt a hope that faded away with Christian's last breathe.

The 3 minutes rainbow boy died in his mother's hands, against her chest.

After saying goodbye to her son and taken over by the intense sadness Katarina lost her consciousness for 3 minutes as well.

Her uterus was still cleaning everything that once belonged to baby Christian.

Heartbroken, she watched devastated Christopher return with his dirty clothes after burying their son somewhere in his land.

A very special location in his land.

Their souls now were connected by the loss of their first-born rainbow son.

 **End of Flashback**

(*)

Sadly, Christopher's feeling was right too. Their union was haunted by tragedy (ies).

Baby Christian became the eternal scar that never really healed completely and became the reason of separation and not of union for those two broken souls.

Baby Christian became the biggest secret Christopher and Katarina had, more than of Christopher's real status.

Nobody really needed to know they had an angel for five months.

Katarina never let go of that loss. Christopher never let go of the guilty for not had prevented it when he ignored Katarina after the return from his campaign.

Katarina tried to be strong for three – yes, she always included Christopher in the math. For 22 weeks she managed it. But she failed in the end. The emotional outbreak due to the fight with her father was too much for her already fragile body due to malnutrition to bear.

Maybe things could've had been different if Christopher hadn't "abandoned" her when she most needed him. He should've had accepted the "mistake" for bedding her. He should've had faced that fear with her.

Maybe things wouldn't have been so different if all those precautious moves had been taken since the beginning. Life is drawn is twisted lines that we may not understand its course, but in the end all the way serves as a lesson.

Sadly those two souls corrupted by the loss allowed that pain to live on between them. Crystalized into them.

Christopher lived with the eternal grief of the guiltiness and fear, until he met Angelique who helped him restore hope, and that made him try to battle the hell in the attempt of not repeating the same mistake of the past with Katarina. And even after marrying Katarina later, guiltiness consumed him in another way, then towards Angelique.

That part of the story everybody knows: Christopher's emotional obsession with Angelique's memories. And Katarina's increasing internal insecurity that led her to some jealousy attacks and obsession with him.

Somehow, they owed each other something...

Unfortunately, baby Christian's blood was not the only on their hands.

Katarina's hands became dirtier when she almost killed Cathlyn, and even more when she stabbed and pushed down the cliff a pregnant Angelique and Christopher.

That was one root of the future cleaning and organization compulsion she developed over the years.

Her soul was dirty…

.

.

And not necessarily the objects in Chris' apartment.

Kate woke up broken into tears. For no apparent reason she couldn't stop playing with her hands. Struggling with the need to wash it "properly".

Chris returned home feeling slightly different. The first thing he did was to check on Kate who was crying in his bedroom.

He didn't ask any questions, he simply lied by her side and embraced her.

* * *

 _William Gibson, a famous science fiction writer, said that time moves in one direction, memory in another._

 _Often people are so saddened that they get stuck in the past; in the past where nothing new happens, where the scent of apathy, decadence and lost opportunities surround everything._

 _Somehow we get stuck in our own networks after a disappointment or a serious problem. When we become discouraged, will and strength diminish; although we continue getting up every day, we move like rusty skin automata because of internal tears. In these situations, there is always someone who, with all their good will, tells us: "Don't worry, because time heals everything"._

 _However, it is not as easy as it sounds. Whoever is wounded doesn't advance, they remain trapped in anger, in the roots of bitterness and in the veil of resentment; they remain in a parallel dimension, where it does not matter that three, six months or even a whole year goes by._

 _One thing we must always remember is that time does not heal, what truly heals is what is done over the time._

 **(**)**

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **The chapter was short, but for me it had lots of emotional background and some secrets of the past revealed.**  
 **Maybe some of you remember how complicated Christopher and Katarina's relationship used to be, and it has always been implicited that there were things between them that hadn't been showed, nor explained properly. Especially Christopher's battle to understand his feelings for her, and how Katarina admittedly loved his shadow.  
Now we can understand her obsession with him. In her mind, he owed her. In his mind he owed her. However, there is another deeper root to that, and that root will be revealed very soon.  
Now we can understand better why Christopher avoided his own land. Memories...  
Now we finally understand one moment Katarina reacted to the stable when they moved to that land. It was not only about the girl at the stable...  
Now we know why is easier loving Angelique than Katarina. That aren't deep scars with her. It's earier loving someone less complicated.  
Isn't there a proverb that says? : "** **Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."**

 **The 18th still has its secrets, we know their middle trajectory, and now their early trajectory. Once upon a time, Christopher wasn't against marrying Katarina and being a family with her, however the loss of their first child affected him immensily and we saw what was made of him after that.**

 **And soon we will learn another very important moment of the 18th that has been designedly skipped.  
A brief resume has been shown with Lionel's tale, however there is always more that hasn't been spoken. And that section of revelations will be cut in two parts. One will be revealed very soon, but the other just more up ahead.**

 **So thank you all for staying with me all this long and as the usual...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	65. Beyond Time

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: Contains Sexual Content more to the end**

* * *

" _Every moment that you think and act, a boomerang in the energy you have produced is released into the universe. It can go far or not. One thing is certain, be it good or evil that was thrown, it always returns to the point of origin: you!_ "

* * *

The camp trip day arrived. It was still dawn when Chris and Kate were dressing to leave home for a few hours' drive.

"Panties? Are you still in those days?" He said in a funny surprise seeing her wearing a tiny thong

"Nope…Despite not liking it, I do wear panties on few occasions such as in those days, or when I wear pants, especially now going to the jungle…I don't want bugs entering inappropriate places of mine…"

He laughed, "You're absolutely right in protecting that area" he said stepping closer to her and passed his hand on her ass seductively, "By the way, despite adoring the practicality of them off, you look very sexy with them on!" he whispered in her ear

She bit her lips with a naughty expression, "Ah, did I mention that I wear them when there's a special occasion?"

"A special occasion?"

"Yup…and that special occasion is not now my dear. We have a road to drive!" she planted a quick peck on his lips and continued dressing herself enjoying his face after her tease

Her wish became true, her period ceased for the trip which got her a little more relieved about it, but on another note, she wasn't really fond of the idea to go to the jungle and live with bugs of all kinds - she made sure to bring a large tube of mosquito repellent in her bag and sun block -, especially caterpillar for a few days! The memory of her traumatic experience as a child haunted her as closer they got to their destination.

Of course she tried to hide it as much she could. She didn't want to make Chris feel bad for the invitation. In reality he never forced her to join him, but truth to be told is that she forced herself to go beyond her limits and trauma for her own good, and also to spend some unusual time with her boyfriend. Nothing wrong with that.

On the other side Chris was becoming another man and very distant from his usual grumpy self. There was a long time since he had taken some time for himself and jumped in some adventure of one of his favorite hobbies.

The CD player was on. They listened to Queen's album Made in Heaven, one of Chris' favorite bands. He sang along some of the songs as he drove enthusiastically while also beating his fingers on the steering wheel and shaking his head according to the songs' rhythm.

From the passenger's seat Kate watched, admired, her beloved boyfriend. Chris Redfield was not a professional, but he didn't sing bad either as he sang parts of Mr. Bad Guy that was currently playing.

" _Let's go chasing rainbows in the sky  
It's my invitation  
Let's all take a trip on my ecstasy_

 _I'm Mr. Bad Guy  
Yes, I'm everybody's Mr. Bad Guy  
Oh, spread your wings and fly away with me_

 _Your big daddy's got no place to stay  
Bad communication_

 _Mr. Bad Guy, yes I'm everybody's Mr. Bad Guy  
Oh, spread your wings and fly away with me_

 _I'm Mr. Bad Guy, they're all afraid of me  
I can ruin people's lives  
Mr. Bad Guy, they're all afraid of me  
It's the only way to be  
That's my destiny  
Mr. Bad Guy, Mr. Bad Guy, Mr. Bad Guy_

 _It's the only way to be  
It's my destiny, oh yeah_

 _Mr. Bad Guy, yes I'm everybody's Mr. Bad Guy  
Can't you see this is my destiny  
Oh, spread your wings and fly away with me_"

She watched delighted his enthusiasm and witnessing that made totally worthy coming on that trip. After all, that was their first trip together as a couple. The muscular and serious captain seemed now a happy kid going to Disneyland.

Chris parked his 2010 Jeep Wrangler and took their bags out of the trunk, before checking in at the reception of the resort and then heading to their booked bungalow.

Chris inhaled deeply several times the fresh air as he kept a large smile from ear to ear for being like one with the nature. He really needed and missed that kind of contact.

The location was really beautiful, even being in fall season. The trees, the path passing among the trees, leading to the bungalows location. The view of the river, the sound of the birds only added another special touch to the location.

Other visitors greeted them as they joined the community.

They stayed in one bungalow with the view to the lake from the porch, which they had no complaints about it.

Inside the cottage there was a living room with a fireplace and a television, a couch and armchairs, a modern-like kitchen with counters, a stove and a fridge, a sink, one bathroom and one bedroom with one double bed, one bunk bed and one single bed for a larger group, but of course Chris made sure to keep that cottage only for the two of them. The decoration was simple with paintings on the walls. The combination of the simplicity and the modernity provided a cozy atmosphere.

While Chris used the bathroom, Kate left to the porch and admired the view of the lake. Despite not being a jungle person and being out of her habitat, she did enjoy the nature vibe.  
She wore a long sleeved wicking black top, and a long sleeved red plaid shirt on top, black leggings and brown hiking boots. Her hair was tight in a ponytail. She wore sunglasses and no makeup. She actually didn't need it, makeup only served to enhance her already natural beauty, and she was comfortable with it. The only product on her face skin was cherry lip balm, besides sun block and repellent.

A couple of minutes later Chris joined her. He wore a green plaid shirt, gray pants and brown hiking boots.

"Admiring the location of your next swimming classes?" he spoke in her ear as he hugged her from behind

She gasped, "No way I'm getting in there!"

"I brought floaters"

"Haha, keep the floaters to you. I'm not going to enter that lake!"

"Come on, you need to learn how to swim in a lake, in the sea…pools are just for training…I promise I won't leave your side and nothing will happen to you" he spoke with a tease

She turned to him with a serious expression, "Chris, my love…you know I adore you beyond anything, but not even this immense love I feel for you will make me get into that water"

He grinned, "And I adore you enough to not force you to do anything you don't want…" he replied leaning closer to kiss her

They exchanged smiles after the kiss. She took her cell phone to register their moment and took a selfie of them with the lake at the back. She wrote a caption and tagged him: "We just arrived at our lake house. That's a nice view from the porch"

As soon as they walked away from the cottage to explore the outer area, they were welcomed by a couple: Frank and Abby.

The couple introduced them to other groups of people. It was evident they were the most effusive people in that community.

On a good note that was good as they had arrived kind of shy in a location they didn't know anyone.

The bad note was Frank's personality. He was a cool guy but the joke type. He spoke loud sometimes and loved telling stories about his adventures in nature. He also liked playing pranks sometimes, only to make people laugh.

He thought he was fun and others tended to get entertained with his presence.  
Kate thought he was annoying despite treating him politely.  
Chris was neutral and usually socialized with other men that enjoyed fishing.

While he interacted with the fishing boys, she socialized with some girls while having a sort of brunch on the table.

"Camping doesn't seem to be your thing" Abby commented in a friendly way

"It's not, but it would certainly be worse if I stayed home alone when we already have so little time together due to his work"

"He's a military, right?" another girl named Cindy asked

"Yes he is"

"He has the looks" Cindy replied

"I think that's admirable from your part… I don't think I could do something like that if Frank and I didn't have so many things in common, especially go camping"

"You know…when Chris and I met, nothing suggested we'd ever become a couple. Nothing! I even kept saying he wasn't my type!"

"Really?" Cindy asked

"Really!"

"It doesn't look that way. You two have such a good chemistry and you seem so in love…"

"Yeah, we hear that a lot, but back then we were a complete mismatch"

"How long are you together?" Abby asked

"About two years…" she lied about it. The other couples were together for a considerate time and she didn't want them to think her "sacrifice" and their caring way with each other was just because the relationship was still fresh

"Two years and it looks your love is so fresh! What's the secret?"

She laughed, "Actually we know for a very long time, but just 'recently' we became a loving couple…We had to go through a lot to make this relationship happen" she replied with her mind in the stories of their past lives

"From the way you speak it seems there's good drama in there"

"Oh definitely! From jealousy ex-girlfriend to envy and gossip coworkers"

Girls and their girly talk about men and love…Now Kate definitely felt comfortable in the jungle. Talking about her love for Chris was one of her favorite "hobbies".

* * *

" _Time moves in one direction. Memory in another._ " William Gibson

* * *

 **Sunday**

Going on that camp trip didn't seem to be a bad idea. The contact so close with the nature, the fresh air and the nice pine scent from the pine trees seemed to renew their spirits, especially Chris'.

He was so relaxed and did enjoy doing all those things with people that shared that hobby with him.

Kate had never seen him so comfortable gathering wood or cutting the firewood for the bonfire that they lit at night when the community reunited to talk, drink beer and eat marshmallows or barbecue.

Initially she thought there would be boring living with bugs and dirt as she wouldn't have much to do as she didn't enjoy much going out for fishing, hiking or even swimming like the others did. The only fun she thought she'd have would be of living without the urban routine and have sex in a different location.

But no, camping was more than those things she initially thought. It could be fun even for a girl from the brick jungle like her. The sounds of the nature (except of the mosquitoes) and the sound of Chris' laughs relaxed her. It relaxed her spirit.

It was still morning, Chris was fishing at the fishing dock with a group of men. From that spot they could see their partners swimming near the lake shore.

Kate was wearing a red bikini to get some tan. She stared the lake and the other girls swimming happily in the water.

"Come join us Kate, the water is great!" Abby invited her friendly

"Yeah I can feel on my toes" the young brunette replied remaining in the same location

Despite taking swimming lessons from Chris, she still didn't like the idea of swimming in the nature. Actually, she couldn't say she had learned how to swim either as she still needed swimming arm floaters and Chris' constant presence holding her into the water.

She walked a bit further. The water level reached her thighs and that was the maximum she could go into her safe zone. She wetted her skin with her hands.

The girls continued swimming further and her attention was dragged to Chris at the fishing dock waving at her. She waved back and smiled.

Suddenly, she felt someone grabbing her from behind and lifting her from her knees. In scare she screamed. It was too quick for her to reaction. The next second passed in a slow motion as her eyes widened and she felt her body flying and then falling freely into the water like a rock thrown into the water.

Immediately the despair took over her as she struggled in the water, not feeling the ground. Gravity seemed to pull her down. At distance she seemed to have heard laughter that soon faded.

She was unable to ask for help. She couldn't breathe. Looking up, she saw two lights.

(*)

Chris's smile faded when he noticed Frank behind Kate. His eyes widened, his heart raced as he seemed to anticipate Frank's intention. It all happened in a matter of seconds, screaming wouldn't stop the man's actions.

"Damn it!" he murmured jumping into the water right after he saw Kate being thrown

Obviously Frank was closer to get Kate, but Chris' protector side had come across him. Something in him was triggered and the sudden thought of losing Kate scared him.

Like a torpedo, he swam until her.

It felt like eternal seconds. Struggling and being saved.

Tired and chocking, Kate remained sitting on the sand. Her body shaking nonstop. Tears cored down her face without her having any power over it.

"You son of a bitch!" Chris said enraged punching Frank on the face, "You almost killed her!" he yelled pushing Frank abruptly to the ground

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean…"

"You didn't mean? You fucking asshole, I saw everything. What the fuck did you think you were doing? That it'd be fun killing someone for drowning?"

"I just…"

"She doesn't know how to swim you fucking idiot!" he yelled almost beating the man again, but other men held him

"I didn't know that!"

"Of course you didn't! You never bothered to ask!"

"I'm sorry…I'm really sorry!"

"I don't forgive you! You almost killed my girl…Get the hell out of my face before I break your face bones"

Ashamed, Frank walked over Kate to apologize.

She didn't bother to look at him. She just couldn't. in fact, she wanted herself to jump on him and break his bones herself. She was out of herself. Her body and mind were two complete different things at that moment. Her body didn't respond to her mind.

The man's voice apologizing again annoyed her, "Shut up! Go to hell!" she yelled loud throwing sand on him

Chris came over closer to her and helped her stand up. She hid her face on his chest, hugging him tight.

The others watched the commotion in silence. Chris guided her to their cottage and took dry towels for her. She was still in shock with the happening and didn't react much to her surroundings.

What sensation was that?  
Remorse?  
Payback?

That certainly felt like a payback after knowing Katarina and Christopher's story. After knowing that once upon a time Katarina pushed the man she loved into the river…and his lover.

Life has its own ways to make people pay for their mistakes. Sooner or later the payback is demanded.

Why the hell did she have that Katarina thought and payback? It just came out of the blue!

She was sitting on the couch rolled in the towel when she looked to the side and saw Chris packing their belongings.

"What are you doing?" she asked standing up and walked closer to him

"Packing. I assume you don't want to stay any longer here after that event…"

"I'm fine"

"You don't look fine at all"

"But I'll be fine… This trip is not over yet…I'm having fun and seeing you so happy makes me happy…we don't have to end our trip because of that moron, plus, we still have to pay a visit to the waterfall" she spoke with a weak smile

"Are you sure?"

She nodded in confirmation taking the bag from his hand and placing it over the single bed

"I'm still so pissed at him. I hope not see his face again!"

"Unfortunately you will…their lodge is not so far away…"

"Nah, I heard they'd leave later today."

"Oh…"

The couple continued talking and spent most of their time eating or simply cuddling together in their lodge.

After lunch and despite the accident, the couple stayed together sitting on the couch at the porch, staring the lake and talking about other things.

Kate rested her head on his left shoulder while he brushed his fingers gently on her arm, "I saw lights…" she said breaking the silence of the cuddle

"Lights?"

"Yes…when I was down in the water…"

"The sun lights' reflection?"

"No. There couldn't be that…"

"You were immerse and floundering…" he insisted on reasoning

"No, I'm absolutely sure that wasn't the sun…one was on my right side and the other on my left and for a second…for a second I felt a sensation of warm hands on my forearms as if pulling me up… I so felt being pulled up because I remember so clearly the sudden boost to swim up and catch my breath and I could finally flow enough until you caught me…and the so different touches…the lights were warm and kind…yours were strong and firm…"

Chris listened attentively, he could see his girlfriend was still impressed by the event. He didn't judge her.

"I didn't have that when I almost drowned as a kid, but the wave that saved me with a sharp punch on my head felt like I was saved by someone else at the time…and now I felt it the same way…"

"Maybe you have two guardian angels…"

She looked up at him, "Do you believe that? Guardian angels and stuff like that?"

"It's not about believing but I've seen things I can't deny it could exist. I didn't believe in zombies until July 1998. What comes after that is a fine line between having the experience or not. I never had lights saving me, but I have experienced that seemed to be a lucky move or something like that which I can't explain…maybe it was a guardian angel or some invisible light…either ways, I prefer to keep my mind open as much I can, but always reasoning about it"

She looked at the lake, reflective. Evidently they had different ways to believe things. That was one of them. She could be more esoteric than him and that was an interesting dynamic in their relationship. Don't they say the opposites attract?  
Like in Paula Abdul's song Opposites Attract "Who'd a thought we could be lovers  
She likes it neat  
And he makes a mess  
I take it easy  
Baby I get obsessed  
I don't like cigarettes  
And I like to smoke  
Things in common  
There just ain't a one  
But when we get together  
We have nothin' but fun  
Baby ain't it somethin'  
How we lasted this long  
You and me  
Provin' everyone wrong  
Don't think we'll ever  
Get our differences patched  
Don't really matter  
Cuz we're perfectly matched  
I take-2 steps forward  
I take-2 steps back  
We come together  
Cuz opposites attract  
And you know-it ain't fiction  
Just a natural fact"

They had their differences but had a nice match on many other things. And that's okay. Too many similarities seem to cause some boredom and she loved the fun.  
they didn't judge each other and that was the right thing to do if they really wanted to make their relationship work and last long.

She rested her face against his shoulder again and smiled. She could hear his heartbeat. His breathing. The reality they were alive. They were close and together, in a sort of déjà vu moment.

It didn't really matter if she believed he was the fisher man of her dreams or if she was enchanted by the tale of the Drowned Lovers.

The souls of that sad tale died fighting for their love. They died fighting for their dream to stay together and be a family.  
the waters of the Bohma River washed away their dreams and disembogued its waters and their bodies into that famous lake of Bohma in the Lake Land.  
Now a lake's waters brought them together again.

Number 7.

Seven centuries turned the Wheel of Time in 360 degrees and so much happened during their turn.

A new cycle that started when they crossed the Bohma River and the famous Hope Bridge where the Lovers met their final fate.  
The ending point became the starting point.

Seven centuries later here they are again. The society's rules have changed. But they changed too.  
Somewhere in the way they lost that innocence and simplicity of loving each other fully.  
Mismatches were unveiled. They lived separate ways. They met other people. They had so many other experiences that molded them over time until they met again. And again.  
They no longer were the dreamy teenagers.  
Their souls aged.  
They had broken hearts.  
They met again half the way after 3-4 centuries apart and had difficulties conciliating their molded souls.  
They failed in recognize the lost purity they once had and that brought them together once upon a time.  
From lovers they became enemies and had to be parted again.  
Separate ways molded them again.

360 degrees later, the Wheel of Life gives them a new chance to make things better. Not right. Right and wrong is so relative like Destiny. The three respond to the Free Will, the ultimate law alongside the Return law.  
Their boomerang was back to its origin, molded, apparently calmer. The results of their last encounter molded them as well and now they continued from where they were left off.

They asked for it before reincarnating. They just didn't remember it.

With the help of Love and Fate they had a new chance work better their differences and restore even if a little the lost purity. The lost hope.  
Number 7: the seeker.

The déjà vu was just getting started…

.

.

.

" _The man of my dreams has almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of, in the deepest and most secret reaches of her heart. I can almost see him now before me. What would I say to him if he were really here? "Forgive me. I have never known this feeling. I have lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder, then, I failed to recognize you? You, who brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way I can tell you how my life have changed? Any way at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say... I cannot find the words. Except for these: I love you." Such would I say to him if he were really here._ "

* * *

There was just the lake and two of them.  
Chris caressed her arm while they stared the lake in silence, just enjoying each other's company.

As he stared it, a weird sensation crossed him making his fingers squeeze a little and press her arm as if checking she was really there.

She looked up at him. Her emerald eyes questioning his.

"Are you okay?" he asked

"Yeah…"

"Why are you staring me then?"

"You squeezed my arm. I thought you wanted to say something"

He gasped, "Ah, it was nothing"

"Come on, say it. Don't be me and get me curious"

He laughed in distress. Opening up wasn't much his thing.  
At least, not with her.  
he should, after all, she was his girlfriend, right? Someone he could trust, right?  
they could trust each other. At least it's what relationship's should be based, trust?

"Don't worry about it" he spoke looking at the lake

"I'm not worried. I'm curious"

He laughed

"I almost died today and now you're killing me in curiosity. This is not fair!" she spoke with a whining tone

He looked at her with a smirk, "And now you're blackmailing me. naughty girl"

"It's not blackmail. It's the truth"

"I feel blackmailed" he spoke jokingly

"Nope. I'm not blackmailing you…blackmail would be me telling you no sex until you start opening up to me" she replied with a tease

"That's so mean Katerina O'Regan Von Göbel, that'd be so mean if you decide to do that after getting me addicted to that loving routine of ours…" he said tickling her waist making her laugh

"You choose captain. I'm the boss here" she replied biting her lips sassily and tried to stand up

He immediately pulled her to him by the waist not letting her go away, making her sit on his lap as he locked his arms around her, "I won't let you go"

"I won't if you open up, otherwise I'll start screaming"

He laughed, "You won't do that"

She gasped, "Don't doubt me Mr. Redfield. Don't ever doubt the power of Katerina O'Regan Von Göbel to cause a commotion"

"How dramatic. You can start screaming now" he spoke with a teasing expression

"It is. Drama is my other last name, but I tell you one thing my love: I prefer screaming for the pleasure you give me" she made a naughty face

He smiled staring her. A stare with an aura of mystery which got her attention

"There it comes his mysterious look"

"Can't you read between the lines…I remember you saying something like that"

"Between the lines, not the vacuum" she joked

He giggled, "I'm not mysterious. I'm a very transparent man"

She smirked, "I take off the very and I switch mysterious to complicated"

"I'm not complicated"

"Uhum!" she lifted and eyebrow in incredulity

He rested his cheek on her shoulder, "I'm not complicated…I'm a military man…I'm not used to speaking out my feelings"

"I understand but we're not in the field. You're not on duty. You don't need the military self at home. Isn't it the first reason why we are here, for you to relax and be the self you so longed?" she spoke with a kind tone

"It's easier said than done"

"I know, but you can try…just don't think I'm pressuring you."

"I know"

"I say those things but you know I'm just kidding. Patience is my another last name and you can take your time"

He smiled and kissed her shoulder. She turned a little and they kissed kindly. Not always those two kissed with passion and lust. More and more their fervor gave place to a warm feeling. Of course they still liked going wild and they did go wild often, but they learned to enjoy each other company. The chill. The kind and simpler moments.

They were still just starting, even though there were moments they felt like they were together for a long time.

Yet, as the time passed, moments like this when they just cuddled happened more often.  
when they were home they did other things besides just sex, although all the things they did end up in sex. However that was not what actually kept them together.  
they were in a journey to seek a kind love. Not a wild passion.  
They already had an innate passion for each other and that passion would never change. It won't change no matter what.

They couldn't name what they actually sought, but their spirits did: the chemistry their old souls once had seven centuries prior. The type of experience that was taken abruptly from them.  
They wanted to have it back.  
Their souls wanted to continue from where they were left off in that particular existence.  
however they had a long way to that because in the middle of that there was their previous existence of hurt and rivalry that was situated exactly between it.  
They were their own major obstacle.

So far, the prospects of them achieving it was good. With the little help of destiny itself, a part of their inner personas was open to it and having the extra guidance of the awakening memories of that tenderness they used to have helped them to develop it.

Unconsciously, those dreams affected them in a way they hadn't realized, especially Chris who had become such a more rational man apart from his previous counterparts. A non-hopeless romantic man, a drier one. And this current existence of his added more to his current more practical way of being instead of a dreamy one. He needed more the information of those dreams of the Drowned Lovers than Kate.

On the other hand Kate was more open to those emotional influences of the past and dreams. She truly believed he was her soul mate. She didn't have doubts about multiple existences. She truly believed they were meant to be. She needed to know so she could understand where they did go wrong when all they wanted was to love.  
So she read those diaries and all the files that were given to her. She never treated it with incredulity, she simply took it all as true.

While Chris worked, she read them. All of them. And the more she read them and cried, the more determined she felt to make them work this time. Getting to know Katarina's secrets and mistakes made her feel ashamed of herself  
However; there were so many things she and Katarina still had in common.

Old loves die hard. Old habits die harder.

They stayed hugging. Déjà vu.

"I wanted to be sure this is real and we staying like this wasn't my imagination." He broke the silence

"It is real. No doubt"

"That's why I squeezed you… I wanted to be sure that…I hadn't lost you"

She cupped his face gently, "You will never lose me" she spoke with assurance

"But I almost did…in the water… I got so scared…"

Her eyes got teary. Secretly, they remembered the dreams of the last time they were struggling to survive in the river. All the feelings they had registered in that moment surfaced subtly in the latest event. Fortunately this time there wasn't anyone's fate to succumb into the water. This time there wasn't their fate to be separated in a moment like that. Yet, it was their fate to receive the law of return in a lower scale the absolution of her "mistake" on choosing to follow her man to death. While Chris' absolution on this case was about the guilt the Christian in him carried for not having saved her when he thought he could.

"Chris my love…you will never lose me. We belong together!" she smiled at him.

A smile he so adored as it expressed the part of her he cherished the most: her cheerfulness.

He smiled back, leaning closer to kiss her lips tenderly. He so enjoyed that moment with her and in fact it still seemed so surreal.  
looking back, it was hard to believe that so much had happened in nearly five months.  
in five months their relationship evolved from the pretty receptionist to the woman he was starting to love.  
Who'd say that the cheerful young receptionist would make a good clean and difference in his messy life. Messy feelings. There was still some mess, but day by day he recognized that despite all the odds, giving them a chance was a right move. From the moment he decided to give them a chance he made sure to have his rationality on their side and allow his heart to open to her slowly but truly. He was ready to face those weird and bad thoughts he occasionally felt in the beginning and now they seemed to switch poles and give space to hope.  
And as a loyal man he would make sure to keep the focus of his heart and mind only on her, with the help of the reasoning as well.

He was ready to invest him all in their relationship.

"How about we go see the waterfall now?"

"Are you sure?"

"Why not? The sun is still out"

He smiled with a nod of agreement. They entered the cottage to wear proper shoes for the walk.  
Kate made a quick hairstyle to change a bit her usual loose hair.

Still in the camp, they walked holding hands, showing their complicity and love. However that was not the real reason for that simple and kind gesture.

Déjà vu.

They were loving partners. Supportive. United by a subtle romance of old souls. They walked together was one. They didn't need to be one only when having intercourse. Be one had more meaning than that and more powerful.

Kate walked at his left side. The side of his heart. She was part of his soul's heart. She didn't let go of him during the walk. Her soul never let go of him even after their bodies' death.

They could hear from afar the sound of the pouring water. Such a beautiful scenery. The green and the red colors of the fall season in contrast with the white color of the water cascades pouring in the river, passing through brown rocks. Such a peaceful moment that luckily there was anyone else there, providing them a nice privacy. – as if they were destined to share that moment only the two of them.

Déjà vu.

While they admired the waterfalls from the shore, Chris felt another weird sensation taking over him. It was as if he had lived that moment before. How could it be? He was sure he had never lived such a moment before – not in this existence.  
Yet, such a familiar sensation.

He looked to his left side at his brunette companion. He felt a sudden scare looking at her from that perspective.

Maybe it was the tick in his mind, but seeing the young brunette so similar to the woman he saw in his dreams since he was a kid: Kate. The same name of his current girlfriend.

His heart accelerated as he made the parallel between those women. She had styled her long black dark brown-almost black hair in broad wavy curls and kept them partially loose. A bunch of the locks from the crown of her head were clipped to the back and the shorter bangs in the front were left hanging over her beautiful face. That half up half down hairstyle was perfect on her, actually it was old Kate signature hairstyle. Both Kate(s) had mesmerizing gazes. Both Kate(s) were brunettes. Both Kate(s) had gypsy souls.

Could he have had a premonition of the love of his life?

The time now seemed to freeze and a movie flash rolled in his mind. The dreams now seemed to pass in the exact order from the moment they met until the moment they made eternal love promises at a simple cottage near a waterfall.

He remained staring her. Time moving so slow.

She stared him back and smiled.

His heart almost jumped out of his chest. He could hear his own heartbeats. There she was: Kate.

The movie continued rolling in his head. It felt it was just yesterday that moment they had. So loving. So kind. So impactful. Living beyond time.

His soul finally recognized the one he waited so long for: His Kate.

She had always been there. He just couldn't see her. He was molded by other experiences.

Now the weird sensation he had the first time he saw her had a name: recognition.

Things now seemed to make sense. The puzzle had fit its remaining and final piece.

In the movie that had been such an important day. It was the day their love multiplied in two and it was also the day their souls married. They became one. Even if after that their paths had been parted by adversities, by other people.  
jealousy, envy, prejudice.  
Roots that poisoned their innocence and embed their pure love into the mismatch that tore them apart when they reencountered later.

Their love got ill, but they never stopped loving.

The movie jumped to the moment their destiny had been separated. The mysterious pain in his chest that haunted him at times had now an explanation.

 **Flashback**

"I'll go first. You stay here"

"I can't stay here alone…without you"

"It's too dangerous. You just gave birth, the rain is heavy and it might flood the bridge soon. The old lady will take care of you until you get better and join me in Edonia"

"I can't stay here… I have no reason to stay…our babies came soon and…I can't stay alone in the same place they died"

"Kate…"

"Chris please! Take me with you…"

Even vexed the young man couldn't bear to see his loved one's tears. He understood her feelings, it was definitely hard to stay in the same place their babies were been buried. He also knew that staying could be dangerous. They were been chased by their families, especially hers. Her father would never allow them to stay together and due to the embarrassment of having a single and pregnant daughter, he certainly would be capable of killing her for his honor.  
He didn't seem to have many options.

Even vexed he took her with him. They had hurry to reach the other side of the bridge and that broke their heart as they couldn't be present at the burial of their children.

Even vexed he carried her which made his pace lower. She still bled and screamed in pain.

The level of the river increased second by second. He feared he couldn't reach the other side. He felt it. His soul knew that was his final living moments.

It wasn't hers. He decided to take her back as he was still closer to Bohma's frontier. He wanted to save her.

The pouring rain made it harder for him to see his path. He thought he had heard someone calling them. He just wished he could go faster. The water was already in his feet.

He was close to the edge and recognized the old midwife calling them. He thought he heard something about babies, but a little before reaching the edge, a sudden wave hit them and dragged them into the river flow.

Kate managed to held on his left arm. They struggled to try to swim and catch their breathes.

It was dark. The water current too fast. He didn't know where they were and he couldn't see clearly the river bank.

However as soon as he thought of trying to swim to a river bank, he felt a sharp pain onto his chest.

.

.

His body evidently didn't register the moment after that impact, but his spirit's did as it was still there during the moment the strings that connect his spirit to the body were disconnected.

The wood stick impaled his chest right into his heart instantly killing him. That traumatic moment remained lying in his soul for centuries in the form of the mysterious chest pain he occasionally felt, especially when he was near his beloved brunette.

His spirit felt guilty for not had done the crossing alone – he had to learn how to stop blaming himself for her choice that night.  
and that guilt became the torment and unnamed feeling his 17-18th persona couldn't explain. The real motive of his constant fear of letting the brunette come close to him. His spirit feared repeating the same "mistake" of ceding to her pleads and another tragedy happen again, and lose her in a way he could've prevented.

He needed to learn how to forgive himself.

 **End of Flashback**

Now a new cycle was starting and their souls finally received the absolution from that traumatic finale. They didn't need to fear it anymore.

"Kate…" he whispered

"Chris…"

He pulled her to him and hugged her tight.

She hugged him back.

Their chests so close that their hearts beat in synchrony. They remained like that for a couple of minutes. A tribute to their old personas longing reencounter.

They parted to exchange gazes. Loving gazes.

They smiled. Then kissed.

The longing kiss. So tender yet full of emotion. Filled with pure love. Agape love.

They returned to the cottage. The sun starting to set.

They kissed again. Their lips moved in a perfect movement. And then exchanged gazes and smiles.

Soft caresses on their cheeks and hairs.

They had no rush. They just kissed. No lust.

After several minutes only kissing. They gave a break to have dinner: soup.

That would be their last night in the resort. They would leave the following day's afternoon.

That meant they still had time to enjoy the magic of that unique moment wishing to stop the time.

Whatever was happening, it was special.

Since they returned from the waterfalls he couldn't lay off his eyes from her.  
He returned more quiet, more silent, but it wasn't because he didn't want to talk. He wanted to observe her, all the details of her.

He was mesmerized. As the usual she did more the talking.

She showered first.

While she showered, he grabbed his cell phone to read some messages. Then he saw the pictures of their trip and read the loving captions she wrote. He smiled.

She was so open about her feelings for him. She was the one who externalized it in pictures. In words. In actions. It was as if she loved for the two of them.

She wasn't afraid to show her love. She wasn't ashamed to express how much she loved him. How much she admired him. She was so intense that it could be easily misinterpreted with bragging.

That wasn't right. He couldn't just receive it and give little. There should have harmony.

He was ready now.

He stood up from the couch and entered the small bathroom.

Kate was still showering when she saw the door opening. She smiled when she saw him removing his clothes and joined her in the shower cabin.

They kissed. Slow.  
The electricity of the contact of their naked skins made her want to speed up a bit more.  
He contended her attempt.

He wanted to kiss her tenderly. No rush. They were already used to the wild and rough sex.  
He wanted something new. Something they hadn't experimented before and he was ready to invest on that. To have that, and not only sexually speaking.

As a good follower she obeyed to his wishes. He wanted slow, she would give it slowly. Even if it would be painful due to the urge to want more.

She stopped the kiss and started passing the soap on his skin. Bathing him gently.  
He closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation. He wasn't a baby but that sexy move fondled him.  
Kate was as much good with her hands as she was with her mouth. He was sure of that.

With one hand she passed the soap on his arms, on his chest, on his abs. The free hand massaged his back, his buttocks.

She looked up at him with a mix of sassiness and lovingness. That mix turned him on.

In between soaping and massaging, she planted little kisses on his clean and wet skin. Other times she simply kissed his lips with different paces, slow with tiny bites. Medium-paced with sucking. Or only brushing the tip of her tongue on his lips and at times his tongue. Other times their kiss heated up and their hands explored their bodies in a hungry make out.

They left the shower and walked to the bedroom. They dried each other.

They were facing each other. He brushed the hair away from her face with tender hands, kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth.  
He held her in his arms, stroking her hair rhythmically and smoothing his hand over her skin as if to reassure himself that she was real.

They had no need of words.

Kate rested her head against his chest and listened to his heart slowly thudding. She felt safe and cherished.

Moving his hands over the curve of her lower back, he pressed his palms against her hips, then slowly upward, pausing at her shoulders.

She looked up at him.

He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head up, "How can I not tell you how beautiful you are and how god you make me feel inside?"

She laughed softly, "You tell me other wonderful things"

"I want to tell you more…"

"I told you I'm patient. Just take your time"

He bent his head and slanted his lips over hers in a slow, tender kiss. His hand left her back, and his fingers floated up to her chest, and on to the firm swell of her breasts.

Kate's breathing increased. His hand felt strong, tender, and sure. His thumb brushed against the taut tip. Her nipple grew hard and erect under his ardent touch, and she moaned softly with pleasure.

She was enjoying their time together in slow, that way she could enjoy every touch, every kiss and every breath. They could.

She enthusiastically reached her arms up around his neck as his lips melded with hers, separating ever so slightly, inviting her to do the same. And she did.

He kissed her passionately as his hands eagerly caressed her shoulder, down her arm and over her chest to fondle her breasts. Occasionally he would stop and tease the nipples with his thumbs and finger, which sent shivers of delight shooting through her.

His lips left hers, and his tongue swept down her neck, tasting her skin, and back up to her mouth again to devour her lips.

She slid her hands to feel his warm, firm skin. She let her fingertips glide softly and tantalizingly slowly over his chest and down his midriff. Her hand slipped lower to the hard swell of his south. She heard his soft moan of satisfaction, and it pleased her that her touch could make him feel so good.

Chris' lips left hers, and gazed lovingly into her eyes and said, "I want to make love to you"

"Then don't keep us waiting"

He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed, lowering her onto her back, then rose over her and covered the length of her body with his, settling his weight on her. Her hands were free to comb the solid, muscled wall of his back, hips, and thighs. His body was firm, his skin smooth.

All their senses burst to life when he pressed his manhood against the softness between her legs, and slowly, deliberately, continuously pressed into her, joining his body to hers.

She felt him tremble, and she gloried in the power she had to give him such pleasure.

Chris stopped moving and sighed contentedly, "You are mine once more, Kate" he whispered against her ear, "You're mine"

Her pulse beat loudly in her ears, but she heard him whisper her name over and over as he kissed her lips, her eyes, her ears, her neck.

She felt full, complete. She pressed against him, rocking in motion with his movement. His thrusts became fast and deeper. She rose up to cup his body to her. With uneven breaths, she stroked down his back, across his buttocks, and up to his shoulders, again with loving hands.

With his thighs wedged between hers, they moved together, engulfed in the exquisite, luxuriant sensation of pleasuring each other. She clung to him and rode the waves of delirious desire with him until they both cried out in fulfillment. She felt limp with contentment.  
Chris' body shuddered as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. She realized he hadn't rolled away from her before completing their union. That pleased her.

They lay quietly for a few moments before Chris lifted his weight from her and lied with his belly up.  
Kate snuggled tightly to him, fitting her body perfectly against his, with her head nestled on his arm.

Chris propped on his elbow, lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers, and kissed her with kindness, "Kate…" he whispered into her mouth, "I love you"

Her pulse quickened. Her eyes widened. She broke the kiss.

Chris shivered. That came out of the blue. His palms were damp.

That was what she was waiting to hear. Though not now. Not like this. She couldn't even say it back as she was still shocked. She was certain that at any minute she would awaken from this dream. This is real, she silently chanted, this is real. At that same time she was making an effort to imprint this moment in her mind so that she would remember it her entire life.

.

.

" _Love must be learned and learned again; There is no end_." Katherine Anne Porter

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **Okay, I know the chapter was long but I reflected about it and I thought it would be better to show all the content and you read it in one same flow, instead of having it cut.  
**

 **Chris bae finally said those words :D Kate was taken aback xD**

 **I really tried hard to write something romantic here, even the lovemaking I wanted to be less erotic, that's why this time I decided to keep the content.**

 **I've been working on this chapter for weeks and this is a very important one, and as the usual, after the romance there it comes the drama xD xD okay, not so right away, but surely is coming...or maybe it's coming sooner than we expect O.O xD**

 **Stay tuned!**


	66. Chapter 66

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

"He said he loves me... I still can't believe it! Can you pinch me to be sure I'm not actually dreaming?" Kate said still overwhelmed after a week since Chris' love declaration

"I knew this would happen" Lucy spoke with a shrug, "But I'm really happy to see you so content with the man of your dreams"

"He is the man of my dreams… I just couldn't recognize him right away…"

"Things happen the way they have to"

"Maybe that's true…"

"I just hope you reconsider telling him the truth about that subject"

Kate rolled her eyes and sighed, "There you come again…"

"Kate…we are friends forever and you know I want the best for you. I know the reasons why you did that, but for the little I know about Chris, he's an honest man with the best intentions, but he doesn't like being fooled. No one does… Do you think is right starting a happy and healthy relationship over a lie?"

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth…"

"You know this is not true… As a friend I tell you things that you may not like but it's for your own good, but you decide if you take it or not… so I really do think you should reconsider the decision and be honest with everybody involved."

Kate remained in silence

"If you like Katarina so much don't repeat the same mistakes…" Lucy spoke with an unconscious impulse that even her couldn't believe those words came out from her mouth

Kate made a face, "Wow, using Katarina against me is a real low punch!"

"I'm sorry… it just slipped…"

Kate crossed her arms and rested her back on the chair, looking away. That was a hard one to listen.

In the previous life, Lucy had been the most loyal lady-in-waiting of Katarina. She was the brunette's favorite and her only confident. Lucy knew Katarina better than anyone. Her secrets. Her pains. Her good heart buried deep into the superfluous mask she carried.

Having Katarina's full trust, she often helped her in her plans and to obtain all information Katarina needed. She was her only accomplice. She was the only true friend Katarina ever had.

Now in this new existence, after her spirit regretted some bad advices and bad decisions that damaged so many people, including Katarina herself, Lucy's restless spirit asked to return at Kate's side to guide her better and debugging the masseuses caused by the past.

Lucy was born in a very rich family, while Kate was born in the opposite extremity, but that was not a problem for fate.

Destiny united their paths when they were still young children when Kate's mother was hired to work in their house as their maid.

Such a turnaround in their history. In the past, Lucy served the O'Gregon family until Katarina bestowed her as her own.

"You're right Lucy. I hate to admit that but you're right… I can't keep running away from my past, my own past! If I don't that, someone else will snitch it and spread it in the wrong way and make me the only cruel person…like it happened to Katarina…"

"If you want, I can go with you…"

"Thank you but no… this is something I have to do alone… I started it myself, right? So I'll face it own my own… Just wish me luck"

"You'll always have my support, sis…"

"I appreciate… my only fear is Chris not understanding me and make it a big fuss if he lets the Christopher Reed inside him take over him…"

"He won't."

"You can't be sure"

"If everything you say is true…Christian is there as well. He will listen to you… to Kat…Redfield might get reflective…"

"I don't want lose him…"

"You won't! He loves you"

"He hates Kat…"

"You're not Kat! He's not Reed!"

"He's not Christian either"

"But he's a considering man. He's more mature. He has been a lot of things to let such a thing to disrupt all the achievements you've conquered as a couple"

The girls remained talking, enjoying their brunch time. Lucy told her about the new project and invited Kate to be her partner.

Kate's fortune was starting to shine.

* * *

While Kate had her time with Lucy, Chris was at a café shop with Eliza.

"I'm curious to know why you invited me to this café when we could be talking in your apartment. Kate's not even there"

"I know, but I couldn't take the risk she could show up and we be caught red handed"

She giggled, "I'm starting to get nervous about it…What's the secret plan?"

"I need your help"

"In what?"

"Women's thing…"

"Can you be more specific?"

"It's Kate's birthday on November 1st, but we will celebrate it on October 29th and that give us 10 days to set the details on the surprise I have for her"

"Okay…What do you need me for?"

"I need you to help with one thing and to investigate her"

She gasped, "Investigate her?"

"Yeah, but it's a good investigation. I need you to discover the favorite location she will choose for a special trip on December…if I make those questions she will get suspicious of my intention and I need to book it with anticipation so I can't wait much longer to close the deal"

"Okay, just tell me the options and I'll do the girl talk"

"Thanks, I appreciate it"

"And what is the other thing you need me for?"

"We are going shopping"

"What?"

"Actually I need your help with two things at the shopping"

"Can you give me a hint?"

"Just follow me and ask me later"

Eliza was beyond curious. Her proximity with Kate grew stronger and closer by day. In her free time she used to go out with Kate to go shopping or just spend some time with her. Kate helped her to increase her self confidence while she helped Kate's plans to please Chris.

There were times Kate tried to get her a boyfriend, but Eliza wasn't really looking for that at the moment, but she appreciated Kate being her matchmaker.

Now it was surprising to see Chris going out for shopping. He wasn't the most vain man. He even shaved his own hair which was evident on the messy frontal side.

She could see his was nervous. He was even smoking. She knew he was an occasional smoker. He had stopped smoking for a while, but when he was too tense he used to relapse.

This shopping was a serious thing no doubt.

She could guess he had the intention of buying a new dress for Kate as he had asked her to carry in her purse the dress she had taken from Kate's closet and another personal object without letting her notice it.

"You took the specific one I told you, right?" he asked as they walked over a clothing yes

"Yes. The purple with paillette one"

As they entered, an attendant came over them. Chris took the old dress to be the example size and shape for the new dress he intended to buy for Kate.

"What's the occasion?" the attendant asked

"It's a very special one. It's her birthday and the party will be at a party hall. She doesn't have any idea about the surprise. She thinks I won't spend it with her. She's kind of sad about it because she really gave a good surprise on mine, and hers is the first we will celebrate as a couple"

The attendant made a face with a giggle, "Interesting. I can see you're planning something big. You told me many things but didn't tell exactly what the occasion is"

He laughed, "The special occasion will be on December. The dress is just a clue to mislead the actual plan. So I cannot really say what occasion is because I can't be sure it's going to happen"

"I see. Do you have a special color in mind?"

"Red or black. Her favorite colors"

After the clothing shop, they headed to another shop. On the way, Chris called Kate to be sure she hadn't returned home. Dealing with a tidy and neat girlfriend had its challenge. He didn't want her to miss the dress. He didn't want her to take bad conclusions or to anticipate his plans.

He and Eliza entered the other shop and now Eliza had the confirmation of her guess. She herself was surprised. Knowing Kate, she could be stunned.

"Which one do you think suits her?" he asked staring two gems in the shop window

"It depends on the occasion or if you want to match the necklaces she already has"

"She has an emerald and a ruby necklace, but I don't think I want to match it this time"

"Certainly not"

"So which one? the larger diamond or the medium one?"

"For Kate?" she laughed a bit, "I don't think that matters much, but if you can afford the larger one"

"I know Kate has an expensive style, I'm not blind and I don't try to ignore it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your question or you… I just meant that for what Kate tells me, she doesn't intend to have an expensive lifestyle with you. She doesn't like being banked by you. The size of these gems won't make her love you less or more…she likes your simplicity"

"Liz, it's not about the size of love through the gems. I'm not trying to buy Kate. I know she loves me for who I am, and I love her too. I just want to impress her and make her feel special, loved. Loved by me because I don't say it much. Not my style."

"I'm sorry Chris but you're not trying to impress her, you're trying to give her a heart attack" she said jokingly making him laugh, "You're thinking of such details that I never thought you could do it… I barely recognize you"

"And is this a bad thing?"

"No, not at all. Knowing you all this long makes me feel happy and proud for being so lighter. I know you're still you at work and all, but when Kate is near you, you simply change positively."

"It's the power of love…that's what they say…"

"I'm so fortunate to witness this…now you don't have to ask me to have breakfast anymore…"

He giggled

"You're not so lonely anymore"

"I'm not…and I don't even feel the chest pain anymore"

"That's awesome. That got me worried"

"Yeah, me too…but I still want to retire… it's about time. I want to live things I haven't allowed me to. There's time to work and there's time to rest as well…"

"And are you capable of doing it?"

He gave a shrug, "Old monkeys can learn new things too…I'll learn to know how to live a different way, but only if Kate is at my side… Without her I can't do this"

Eliza smiled warmly.

In the past as Elizabeth, she had witnessed the turmoil relationship Christopher and Katarina had despite their incredible partnership.

Most of the time into their marriage was marked by his regardless behavior and emotional distance but yet unable to walk away from Katarina once and for all.

She witnessed the ups and downs they faced. To the public they were the gold couple. Intimately there was a silent war.

While the screams of their arguments were heard from across the corridors, she used to watch their children alongside other ladies-in-waiting and Clairy to give support to the children.

However she did know there was a true love somewhere deep inside them. Their marriage did finally start to work when Christopher finally let go of Angelique's ghost and started giving the love he dedicated to the ghost that served as their tormentor, to Katarina.

The moments of peace were completely disrupted when Katarina's fury and jealousy took over her and she started an affair with Pierce. That broke her heart immensely which almost made her divorce him despite loving him with all her love.

Things finally found its tragedy when Angelique was proven alive, and consumed by rage she killed the rival and ruined any chance of regaining Christopher's love.

It was heartbreaking seeing Christopher Reed so overshadowed after the loss of the loves of his life. The once dreamy man turned into a grumpy stone. Only few things could take a smile from the once hopeless romantic man.

Elizabeth's heart was pure and full of love. She forgave Pierce and pitied her sister's misery. She watched with suffer the glory and the fall of her beloved sister.

It was heartbreaking seeing the once cheerful and vain girl turned into an obscure figure always in black. Always in grief. Alone with her ghosts and memories behind bars.

Now in this existence they weren't blood sisters anymore, but their bond remained the same from where they were left off. She better than anyone respected the brunette.

She more than anyone prayed they would find their love and live the love story they always wished for – and deserved.

* * *

 **B.S.A.A., Piers' Office**

"Mysterious deaths in the surrounds of the old ruins of Arthena in Bohma;  
A five men team of American researchers were found dead near the old ruins of Arthena in Bohma. Their deaths remain a mystery but their gear suggest they were conducting some sort of research at the ruins;  
Five researchers who worked for the Fleury Chemical Union were found dead in Bohma;  
Douglas Fleury, the owner of Fleury Companies spoke about the accident and said the company is giving all the support to the families."

Piers was sitting at his desk staring the computer screen and reading the world's headlines on the internet. The subject took his interest as he recalled the conversation he had with Mr. Lionel and the samples the old man provided him.

 **Flashback**

"For now the location is secured, but my concern is after I die. Jerry will be responsible for my secretive subjects and my patrimony for a temporary time, but after the time expires I fear intruders to find the truth about the black herb and use it to unleash the evil"

"What can I do to prevent this?"

"There's a long content in the flash drive explaining with details everything about the black herb and the samples I gave you serve to further studies but only at the trust of you and Chris. No one else may learn the herb still is cultivated in the caverns of Arthena"

"Cultivated?"

"The secret lies in the depths of the cavern, but only Chris has the right to enter it"

"Why?"

"It only concerns him"

"So why are you telling me this?"

"Because you have the right to secure it"

 **End of Flashback**

Piers let out a sigh, the fears of Mr. Lionel were not unfounded and seemed to be exposed earlier than he thought.

"I can't go inside, but I can look outside… I wonder why…"

The deaths of the researchers only increased his curiosity. He was aware he couldn't take that trip in name of the B.S.A.A., so the only option was to do it on his own. Somehow he felt he had the duty to secure the secret of the black herb with or without Chris.

* * *

 **Bohma**

Dear Diary,

This is the first time I ever write a diary, or I'm trying to. But I don't have another option. I don't have anyone else to vent about this pain of mine. I doubt anyone else would understand my current feelings.

It's been a while since I haven't talked to Chris.

It still hurts.

Have you ever felt like crap for taking a decision you thought was right, but your heart feels wrong? Betrayed?

It's how I feel…

It's been a while since I haven't entered my profile…

He said he loves her.

I don't want see anymore…

I try to hide. I try to ignore it. I try to forget the almost kiss we had…

I can still feel the touch of his beard on my skin. The softness of his lips on the corner of mine and the power of his embrace that made my legs weak.

Now those lips kiss someone else's. Those strong arms embrace someone else's body. Those large hands explore someone else's skin.

Not mine…

The kisses should be mine. The hugs and love declarations should be to me.

I never thought it be so hurtful reading a love declaration. Me…the hopeless romantic girl…

I was damned.

My heart believes this should be our story. The period of time our souls were waiting for while frozen in the paradox of time. At lake. When beautiful promises were made. When a happy future was painted on the canvas of our souls.

But no…the promises have been broken.

The plans just plans…

Reasonably I try to stay happy seeing him apparently happy.

Reasonably I try to move on…on my own – again.

I don't know for how long I can continue fooling my heart. Hurting myself. Wishing for a forbidden love.

It's like we are two complete strangers now.

I wonder if he ever learned who we used to be, he would follow "my" advice and choose her instead of me.

This is so unfair. One sided love.

I so regret not fighting for him. For us. Again!

He said he loves her.

I don't want to believe it. he is not in love, just dazzled.

He said he loves her.

No he doesn't. he hates her. At least who she used to be.

He said he loves her.

Does he? Can a rock love so quickly someone in such a short period of time?

He said he loves her.

Since when did love become so banal?

He said he loves her.

Not me.

.

.

" _One day we discover that kissing one person to forget another is silly.  
One day we discover that falling in love is inevitable...  
One day we realize that the best proofs of love are the simplest...  
One day we realize that the common doesn't attract us...  
One day we will know that being classified as "nice" is not that good...  
One day we will realize that the person who never declares to you is the one who thinks the most of you...  
One day we will know the importance of the phrase: "You become responsible forever for what you've tamed. You're responsible for your rose_ _"_ _...  
One day we realize that we are very important to someone, but we don't give the right value to it...  
One day we realize how much a friend is missing, but it is already too late.  
We realize that despite living for almost a century, this whole time is not enough for all our dreams to come true, to say everything that has to be said...  
The truth is: or we settle for the lack of some things in our life or we fight to fulfill all our follies..._"

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **A/N: The last poem I found many years ago on the internet and I translated it from portuguese.**

 **I know the chapter was short, but be prepared because the next one there will have some revelations!**

 **Stay tuned!**


	67. Where It All Began

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **B.S.A.A., Training Area, Morning**

* * *

After spending a couple of days reading the flash drive content and thinking about the murderers in Bohma, Piers started feeling restless. There was something about those ruins. Something he and Chris had the obligation to investigate.

He looked for Chris in his office, but Greta informed him Chris' whereabouts and as he headed to the location he thought about the excuse he'd give to his superior to make the solo investigation.

Chris was taking a break from the training when he spotted the younger soldier coming his way. They greeted.

Piers didn't disguise his tension which took his superior's attention.

"Did you hear about the murderers in Bohma?" asked the twenty-four-year-old soldier

"Yes I did"

"Didn't you get wondering what killed them? It happened at an isolated area"

"Probably some native group. They saw the intruders as a threat and decided to eliminate them"

"Do you really believe it?"

"It's what seems obvious to me. There wasn't a slaughter. They were killed individually over…"

"A month!" Piers completed the sentence, "All in the same region. A region that was famously known for the growth of the black herb in the past"

"That plant is extinct from nature. They destroyed the cavern where it used to grow, didn't they?"

"It's not extinct and you know it! Lionel provided us some samples"

"Samples he had stored from centuries… he was old enough for that"

Piers smirked, "I don't believe this! Do you really believe those samples last that long?"

"It only needs a humid and dark place. I read the file in my flash drive!"

"You haven't read enough then"

"The other contents are fables such as Christopher Reed's diaries and the properties of the black herb they know so far. There's not much interesting content in the flash drive for me to read"

"I'm sorry to say that but I think this time you're being oblivious"

"If you don't believe me, you can take the flash drive and read yourself. It's in the drawer of my desk in my office"

Seeing there was nothing else he could argue back, Piers let out a defeated sigh. It was still incredible how Chris Redfield could still keep some incredulity after going through so many things, "I need some days off…"

"What for?"

"I'm going to Bohma"

Chris gasped, "You know it's not the B.S.A.A.'s jurisdiction to investigate a local crime, do you? There's no report on the involvement of B.O.W.s in this case to justify our presence…"

"I do. It's not on the B.S.A.A's account, it's on me. I have a strong feeling we should investigate it closely"

"I can't go with you. There's no evidence enough for me to get involved in this"

"I didn't consider you'd join me, but I'll let you know if I find anything suspicious"

"Okay…"

* * *

 **Bohma**

Angelina left the hotel she was staying for a few days to frame her mind since her disillusion with Chris and the doubts she was having about George.

She walked the streets without destination. Alone. Lost in her own misery. Questioning if there were such a thing of multiple existences. If true, why the man she loved had shared three existences with a woman that only caused him trouble? A selfish and possessive bitch?

Probably it could be easier not believing such thing. It was starting to torture her heart. Fate owed her a chance to stay with him and let their love flourish like it was supposed to.

She stopped by a plaza and sat on a bench. Her eyes spotted the green of the trees. Green made her recollect of Chris. His favorite color.

The simplicity of the nature made her recollect the memories at the Lake House. Memories from the dreams supposedly originated in the previous life. His favorite hobby.

Green of Greencamp. The legendary heir from the extinct clan of the Greencamp's, a traditional family that lived on the 14th century. Christopher Greencamp, son of Barry Gerard Greencamp, a fisher that made his fortune after accidentally finding emerald in the property he lived.

After Christian's death, Mr. Greencamp helped Angeline raise his twin grandchildren and passed his fortune to them after his death.

Angelina let out a sigh. Once upon a time she fell in love with her then sister's boyfriend. Out of envy she helped separating them.

From that perspective they were even.

Lionel said one of them should be able to stop the cycle, at first she thought she would be the one. Now, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Angelina?"

She heard a male's voice calling her. She turned to the side recognizing Jerry, Mr. Lionel's assistant.

"Hi Jerry, how are you?" she greeted him with a faint smile

"I'm good, you?" he said sitting at her side

She looked away briefly. That was tough question.

"I'm good too."

It was evident she was lying. Angelina was a bad liar.

"Did you see the email?"

"What email?"

"About Mr. Lionel's will and his properties sharing notice"

Angelina made a puzzled face. Since Chris' online declaration she was giving a long break from internet and mistakably she ignored her emails as well.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see it"

"Please do that and respond. You have been cited as one of the heirs"

"What?" she widened her eyes, "I thought Lionel was joking about it"

"No. He never joked about leaving the Lake property to you, and also the peasant land…"

The redhead girl didn't have a reaction. That was a disturbing news. She was the one chosen to inherit the famous Lake House, not that she hadn't heard its possibility, but she never really believed Mr. Lionel would take it for real. Once, during one visit to him, he told her all that would be hers, yet he never mentioned the Peasant Land would be included too.

"The others have been informed too"

"What others?"

"Chris…Kate…Piers…"

She was stunned. Mr. Lionel really believed they were the reincarnations of those legendary people. Jerry continued speaking but his voice was mute to her ears. Her body was there, but her mind was far, far away.

Unleashed memories dragged her spirit to where it all began when her eyes stared the female figure near a distant tree…

Like in a vortex of time she recalled the sensation of the cold water on her skin.

In a place where there was no boundaries between time and space, Angelina could feel the cold water touching her skin by the pouring rain. Her heart was accelerated from running in the forest. Her clothes were heavy, soaked wet and covered by mud. Yet, she didn't allow that to stop her. She ran with the force of her hope to fix her mistakes.

After entering the barn and finding it empty, she took the baby clothes her then sister had knitted for the unborn child (children). Due to the hurry to escape, she had forgotten it behind.

That was the moment she had a very bad feeling, but before she could think straight, their father entered the location realizing what had happened.

She saw the fury in his eyes seeing the baby clothes and heard him shouting about killing Katherine and the child. They weren't rich, but their father had influence in the small village they lived – the village later on known as the Peasant's Village.

Her realization about Katherine's desperate condition and the hate in their progenitor's voice drowned her heart in remorse, and while he gathered people to hunt the fugitives, she took a shortcut to the location she had obtained from Peter.

She never hated her sister. She envied her. Out of envy she had tried to sabotage Katherine's light and charisma several times. When Katherine wasn't home she used to take her clothes and dress it. Some she even made cuts or damage. Among friends she used to tell lies about Katherine and ruin her image. In some occasions Katherine had been punished for the rumors Angeline had made out of her.

When she met Christian she immediately felt attracted for him and due to his kind nature she led herself on about taking him for her. Though, that wasn't real love, mostly she just wanted to take him from her sister. And in some rare occasions when they were alone waiting for Katherine, she tried to poison him against Katherine but his view of her was incorruptible.

Despite her name, she wasn't as angelical as she was supposed to be.

Although despite all those little tricks against her sister, she did remember how kindly Katherine always treated her, and often protected her from other people and even from their father when he became aggressive due to alcohol.

Katherine was kind and clumsy. Communicative and helpful. Cheerful and hopeless romantic. Yet fearless and smart. Dreamy.

Out of remorse, Angeline unconsciously absorbed those traits she admired on her sister.

One hundred and fifty years later Angeline had her chance with Christian, while Katherine's spirit was in a spiritual place called Umbral, still punishing herself for committing suicide and leaving her surviving twins behind, in grudge for Angeline's betrayal.

Centuries later the same waters united all those characters paths again. The same waters that once brought love, promises and suffering, were then bringing the payback.

Katherine's corrupted sweetness gave place to stoic and resented Katarina, and the premise of her return was to forgive, especially Angeline.

Angeline returned as Angelique to purge her past mistakes and stop the competition for Christian's heart.

Christian became Christopher, the premise of his return was to face his internal demons and continue the love path from where he and Katherine were left off.

The three of them failed badly.

She admitted defeat.

Katarina increased her debts by participating of evil schemes and killing pregnant Angelique, she failed the main premise, forgiveness – of others and herself.  
Christopher increased his debts for creating bonds with several women increasing Katarina's grudge, and failed in not facing his internal demons.  
Angelique failed in stopping the competition by hiding Christopher for too long to live her implicit selfishness by marrying him first when she knew she had to give him back to Katarina.

Angelina slowly returned to her conscious mind. She could hear the distant voice of Jerry calling her name while she watched the female figure disappear among the trees.

That was the alert Life was giving her to not repeat the same mistake again while drowned in the sorrow of letting go of Chris. She had already been warned by Lionel the captain of the B.S.A.A. had asked before reincarnating to purge his demons with Kat/e and that's why it was so important to him to have Christian's memories unlocked.

Maybe she'd have her chance again when that process was done.

It's hard to change the wishes of the heart!

"Angie, are you okay?" Jerry asked in concern touching her forearm

She swallowed dry, "I'll be okay Jerry, don't worry about me…"

* * *

 **United States, Night**

Chris was having dinner with Kate. A silent dinner. Since Piers informed him about his private investigation, something in him was buzzing.

Kate tried not to force interactions with him as she was used to that side of his. Yet, it was a tough task. That was the first time he was that "weird" since they started dating. The caring man that made love to her before going to work was not the same when returned home nearly ignoring her presence.

"What does your flash drive content is about?" he asked out of nowhere

"Huh?" she didn't expect such a question

"The flash drive you received from Lionel."

"What about it?"

"What's the content about?"

"Katarina's diaries and secret letters"

He mumbled, "Does she talk about the black herbs or something?"

"Yeah…after so many pregnancies and aging, she was worried about her appearance. Albert Walker provided it to her by telling her its regenerating power, but she didn't know the extension of it. She thought it was just a miraculous healing herb that besides keeping her beauty it also helped curing Christopher's horrendous stomachache"

"Did he know about it?"

"Yeah…just later on…"

He smirked, "She was giving it to him behind his back? Bitch!"

Kate felt the insult and didn't like it, "She didn't do it to poison him, she was just groundless watching him struggling with often pain!"

He gasped bitterly, "She should've had told him! Let him decide if he wanted to take it or not!"

"She didn't want to lose him for the mysterious disease! I doubt he would too and leave behind his precious children and the happy family they were becoming!"

"I doubt those two could be happy"

"They were! They had many happy moments. Their twins were made in the best and happiest phase they had! Those two were extremely happy and the true soul mates when stupid Angelina wasn't in his head!"

"Angelina?"

"Angelique! Angelique…"

He let out a sigh, "Maybe there was love somewhere but in vain. Katarina was brilliant enough to kill it"

Kate inhaled bitterly, "Yeah…and he is blind enough to not see his responsibility in the tragedies because it's easier blaming only the outstanding one"

He gasped, "'He is'…you speak as if he were here…"

"It's like he is, they are…they're the only reason that makes us argue"

"You overprotect Katarina"

"And you overprotect Angelique."

He gasped, "The problems is that you excuse Katarina's mistakes. You talk as if she deserves forgiveness and Angelique punishment…isn't her death punishment enough?"

"I don't excuse Katarina's mistakes but you do excuse Angelique's and Christopher's. Surely Katarina was punished too, not by her death, but for her torment, secluded, abandoned… Although the difference is I admit her flaws… what about you? Do you admit his? Angelique's?"

"They were victims"

"Victims…not innocent people!"

Chris let out a sigh. That was a subject they had complete different opinions, "It depends on what you consider innocent…" he gave a shrug

"Do you want me to say?"

"Say it" he said crossing his arms

"Centuries passed. All of them are dead and buried, but their legacy still lives on, and so does your blindness. Katarina killed people? She did! Katarina lied? She did! I never treat her as an innocent. Forgiveness is not about turning into innocent, is about letting go of the torment. You like many others keep reminding of her mistakes, but it's because they take only one side of the story. And you talk as if Katarina still exists, she doesn't! You close yourself to listen to her side and I doubt you know Christopher's all…"

"Why should I know? Like you said, they're buried and dead after centuries. My only concern is the legacy of the black herb. I thought Katarina had given any extra information in her diaries…"

"Maybe the answer is in Christopher's memento if you weren't so scared to see it…I don't think Mr. Lionel left the flash drive to you only as a souvenir…maybe you should let go of that resentment for Katarina and read properly Christopher's side of the story"

He cleared his throat, "Why do I have the feeling you read it behind my back?"

She laughed loud, "Don't grow your suspicions on me! I don't to act behind your back when I can ask your permission"

"Your goddess didn't ask for permission to infect him"

"Infect him?"

"Yes…it altered the genetics. Don't you realize that Mr. Lionel was a product of that infection by having such a long life? He took it from Charles' heir genes, the king/lover she saved the life by giving him the black herb in form of powder behind his back…"

She remained in silence. She never thought things that way. Probably because she was too busy with the romantic part. She was a hopeless romantic after all…Very deep inside.

"I guess I'm not the only one who ignore facts…" he said standing up from the chair and grabbing the plates to take to the dishwasher

Of course the Katarina lying inside Kate wouldn't remain defeated in an argument. She was too proud for that. Or maybe to brave for that. Not even Christopher Reed or Redfield could silence her for long.

Inhaling deeply, Kate stood up and followed the man to the kitchen. She stood firmly behind him while he kept the dishes inside the dishwasher. She waited. Ah she was so good at waiting! Especially to win!

She waited him to turn around and almost bump into her. She remained with a determined expression and stared him into the eyes and extended her hand, "So give me your flash drive, I have the guts to read everything!" she spoke with an almost defiant tone

He stared her back. He was used to imposing people, "It's not here. I left it in my office at the H.Q."

"Are you scared of me reading it?" she teased him

"I don't fear it"

"So why leave it out of my reach?" she spoke walking closer to him

He laughed, "Not out of reach, it's mine. I keep wherever I want and do whatever I want of it…"

She smiled seductively and started rubbing her hand on him, "True that my love…so true…but you're mine…" she whispered and planted a kiss on his neck, then licked him.

He enjoyed the sensation her hands and lips caused on him, "You know what they say about reconciliation sex, don't you?" he spoke with a hoarse

"Reconciliation… I didn't know we had gone that far…" she sucked his lips

He remained in silence and kissed her back.

While her right hand rubbed his hardening member growing through his pants, as her left hand – and her dominant one for writing - reached his pocket making her smile with a naughty way as she stepped back, "Bad liar! If you really one the reconciliation, catch me!" she said running away holding the flash drive

He ran after her but remained on the corridor facing the locked door of their bedroom, "Come on Kate, you know I can put this door down"

"Do it! I'm not the one who will pay the repair" she spoke jokingly

"Kate, open the door. This is so childish" he started to laugh

"You started the reconciliation thing, now work for it"

"I don't have time for it"

"But I do, I've got plenty of time!"

"Fine. You keep the flash drive and I keep the surprise I bought for you…"

"Ouch, Chris Redfield trying to blackmail me!"

"It's not a blackmail"

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm not. It's in my office. Eliza is a witness I'm not lying"

"I don't believe you. You're bluffing."

"You have all the right to not believe. Now please, this is my house after all so step away from the door because I don't want to hurt you"

Kate made a face. Was he serious? She wanted to test him. She sat on the armchair and waited. He was taking longer than she expected.

"Chris?" she yelled

No response. She called again. Nothing. She stood up and walked over slowly to the door, staying a safe distance out of reach in case he really opened the door.

"Chris?" she yelled again

"Stay away, I'll open the door"

She stood nearby, watching him move the doorknob. Soon after he unlocked the door and opened.

"Extra keys!" he said jokingly

She slapped his arm with a whining face, "I still have the flash drive and you have to work harder for the reconciliation"

"That makes even then. You got my flash drive and I got the birthday gift I got for you"

"What birthday gift? You won't even be here on my birthday, you said you have a mission…"

"I guess I'm not that bad in lying then…" he spoke teasingly

"Hahaha…" she rolled her eyes

"How old are you?"

"Enough to sleep in a separate room while we don't reconcile…"

He laughed stepping closer to her and crossing his hands around her waist, "We're adults…we should act like one"

"If you think I'm giving it to you tonight. I won't! not any time soon!"

He giggled, "I can live with that…but can you?"

"That's why I never let go of my true friend… a dildo!"

He laughed, "Dildo's can't lick you…all…like me…" he

"I can live with that…" there was an uncertainty in her tone

"They don't fuck like me…" he grabbed her buttocks

"Certainly they don't…But there was life before Chris Redfield huge cock…there might have after him…"

He giggled, "Well then, I guess all I am sure is that super tidy Kate is not that tidy after all…" he said releasing her

"What do you mean?"

He gave her a mysterious look, "You want to sleep in your old room, fine. but I'll make sure you won't have what kept there…until we reconcile…"

"What are you talking about?"

"I won't say it. You haven't seen it…"

"But I will see now!"

He smiled from ear to ear, and couldn't help the loud laugh when she tried to open the locked door. Sassily he showed her the pair of keys of the room.

"Give me the keys Chris or I'll be the one putting the damn door down"

"It's my house. You can't do that!"

"Fuck it. Nobody cares"

"I do! You'll pay the repair"

"Give me the keys"

"Give me the flash drive"

Beyond curious she didn't give much resistance to tell him where she kept it, "It's in the drawer of your nightstand side"

He went to check it just to confirm she wasn't lying and joined her back.

"No reconciliation sex, right?" he asked putting the key in the door lock

"If you're lying to me about what's inside you can be sure there won't have reconciliation and no sex at all until next year!"

"That's about two months of punishment then…I can live with that…" he stopped turning the key

Kate made a pissed face. He was bluffing all the time, "You moron!" she cursed him and opened the door still in hope he wasn't lying to her

"It's cold. Cold. Super cold. Warm…" he spoke watching her search the room

She entered the closet and followed his tips. There were all kinds of boxes that she always sucked the dust with the vacuum cleaner. The external dust.

"Hot"

She touched a large green box. It wasn't a new box.

"Very hot"

She carried it to the bed. It wasn't as heavy as she thought.

"Inside?" she asked doubting his information

"Open it" he gave a shrug

"If you're lying to me Chris…"

"I know. I know…"

She opened it. There was a pile of towels. She took them all outside until she found another smaller box at the bottom.

"Super hot" he said walking over her

The smile on her face made that play all worth it. Her eyes widened seeing the stunning red maxi dress. Made of Georgette fabric drapes alongside a V-neck and back, and lays across a banded waist. Full maxi skirt has a sexy side slit. Hidden back zipper with a clasp.

The dress was perfect for her to wear with the diamond necklace and bracelet kept inside jewelry holder hidden beneath the dress.

She opened the small envelope and read the card.

" _You're receiving this Now and not on your actually birthday, because I'm extremely thoughtful and wanted to be sure the celebration of You was not limited to just one day. That's so nice of me, right? Well, you're worth it! I don't know where my mind was…until now. At least this way I'll stand out from the crowd when I tell you you're amazing and awesome, and much more… The other things I have to say I'll leave for your actual birthday and I want you to wear this dress on your day! Our day! With love, Chris_ "

She was teared-eyed, her hands trembled, "Chris…I…"

"You don't have to say anything. Your face shows it all"

"Eliza definitely made a good job assisting you behind my back!"

He laughed, "I wanted something that would match your personality, and girly stuff is not my thing so I requested her help alongside the attendant's. I was in doubt about the black or red, but I guess red suits you better"

"You impressed me!"

"I'm glad you liked it"

"I loved it!" she crossed her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately

"I guess this is better than reconciliation sex…"

She made an unsure face, "Sex is still very important to me"

"For me too! But you know what I mean…"

"I know! I'm such a lucky girl! You are the best boyfriend in this entire universe!"

"And you the best fuck!"

She gasped, "Chris! Can't you be a little bit more romantic now and say it back I'm the best girlfriend?"

He laughed loud, "I was kidding about it, I meant…partner, I guess…"

"You guess?" she raised only an eyebrow

"You certainly are my girlfriend Kate, the best! But it's because…I see you in a different way by now and I don't think the word girlfriend suits anymore…"

"And what is the word that describes me better now?"

"That I'll leave for your birthday! And I mean it!"

She threw her head back with a groan, "Ugh, you're killing me this way Christopher Redfield!"

"Just a few more days…"

"So no sex until my birthday!"

"Ah, come on Kate, how old are you?"

"How old are you! You're torturing me! My curiosity!"

He took her into an embrace, "I know, but it all be worth it…at least, I hope so…"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"I don't know…it's just my anxiety…"

"Anxiety…for my birthday?" she made a thoughtful face, "What are you planning behind my back Mr. Redfield?"

He didn't say anything else. He simply shut her up with a long warm kiss.

(*)

The birthday plans didn't happen as Chris expected, on the following day he opened his email box. He didn't believe his eyes.

"I leave the entire property of Arthena that once belonged to Christopher Reed to Christopher Redfield, a captain of the B.S.A.A. (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) resident of New York, United States of America. He has the free will to decide whatever he wants to do about it after the transference to his name.  
At his responsibility is also the security of the old site at the Arthena's Forbidden Cave."

Kate was lying on her side of the bed watching Chris's behavior. Intrigued. She opened her email as well and a loud groan escape her throat, "Five hundred thousand!"

" _I leave the O'Gregon Palace that once belonged to the O'Gregon family to Katerina O'Regan Von Göbel, resident of New York, United States of America. She has the free will to decide whatever she wants to do about it after the transference to her name.  
I leave to Katerina O'Regan Von Göbel an amount of five hundred thousand Bohs which shall be updated accordingly to the exchange rate at the date of the finalization of my assets distribution._"

The birthday party was cancelled. But in exchange they got a trip to Bohma where it all began…

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **Another chapter before Christmas' Eve...Have fun ya'll!**

 **And be prepared for this super trip!**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	68. Homecoming

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Bohma, Hotel**

Piers arrived in Bohma first, but as soon as he got there, he received a message from Chris telling him he was on his way with Kate to Bohma as well.

Initially he didn't understand why Kate was coming along, until Chris told him about the notice. It was when he checked his email and the mail in the spam box.

He couldn't believe Lionel had given him Pierce Northman's property, although, he didn't know if he should accept it.

He decided to stay at the same hotel they did the last time, and as soon as he entered the reception, he recognized the beautiful redhead, Yana, welcoming him and an instant attraction surged between them.

"I'm surprised you recognized me. You must see so many faces…"

"I don't forget a pretty face, especially a particular foreigner's one…with all the respect sir."

He grinned, "Well, it's alright, I understand that. It's hard to forget a particular redhead, with all the respect as well…"

She smiled while she delivered him the booking papers to sign, "Do you like redheads?"

"I guess I have a thing for them…"

She discreetly bit her bottom lip, "Did you come alone this time?"

"No, my boss and his girlfriend are coming tomorrow…they were with me as well, maybe you remember them."

"I may remember something…are you taking about a big guy and the drunk girl…"

He laughed, "Yeah, the big guy and the…drunk girl"

"I thought she was your girlfriend"

"Oh no…she wasn't my girlfriend… she is his…"

"Humm, so how do you want me to book your room, only for you or to share with them?"

"I want a room just for me!" he spoke in a flirty way

She grinned, "Not into sharing?"

He laughed catching the double sense in her sentence, "That depends…"

"On what?"

He leaned closer on the counter and whispered only for her to hear, "On what and how…"

"How?" she raised an eyebrow

He grinned with a wink, "I'll explain later when you're not on duty…"

"My duty ends at 3AM. Welcome back to Bohma Hotel, this is the key to your room."

"Thank you. 3AM… Room 3D" he said with a flirty tone

* * *

The following early morning Chris and Kate arrived at the hotel and booked a room. Coincidently they stayed in the same room they did the other time.

"So here is where it all started…until half the way…" Kate commented looking around

Chris laughed, "It's not in half the way anymore…"

"Partially correct. In this exact spot our history there is still unfinished business…" she spoke in a flirty way stepping closer to him with a seductive look

He smiled taking in her seduction and leaned to give her a kiss.

She kissed him back. She was on fire.

Chris broke the kiss for her displeasure

"Is Mr. Captain of the BSAA tired or is this room cursed to put out my fire?"

He laughed, "Nothing is cursed nor I'm tired… I have to talk to Piers…I told you this is a work trip for me. The sooner I end this, the sooner we conclude all the way later. So don't have to worry about pendency."

"I know…that's why I came ready to entertain myself…"

"Did you bring your 'best friend' with you?"

"Unfortunately not, but I've got 10 bffs with me…" she said moving her fingers

He laughed loud, "I can't compete with that…"

"No you can't my friend…Now go to work hard while I'll play harder"

They gave a goodbye kiss.

Chris walked the corridors until he reached Piers' room. He raised his hand to knock the door when he frowned and leaned his ear closer to the door. He should've had called before leaving his girlfriend alone in flames.

Piers was the best soldier working with him currently, but he should've known better the younger man's age and still elevated hormones when alone at a hotel.

Then he returned to his room and found Kate taking a shower. Quickly he removed his clothes and opened the shower's cabin door to join her.

"Are you done with Piers already?" she asked enjoying him rubbing himself against her back

"He's busy…" he replied turning her to him

"What?"

"Work can wait" he spoke kissing her passionately

No more talking. There wasn't only Piers with elevated hormones…

* * *

 **" _The strongest warriors are time and patience_." _Leon Tolstoi_**

* * *

Piers and Chris reached the summit of the hill and saw the immense sand valley and rocks that formed the famous mountain complex that hid the legendary Forbidden Cave.

A place so dry and arid, how could it harbor life when there was not even a trace of existence of water in the vicinity or vegetation?

The renowned BSAA soldiers studied the site with perplexity. A perplexity that did not come from the questioning of the production of the famous Black Herb, but a perplexity coming from the subconscious of each one. Of distant memories recorded in the intimate of those men.

Memories that occasionally appeared in the form of strange dreams. Sometimes by an indescribable sense of nostalgia.

Piers who had hitherto shown no interest or recognition of the past - of that past - now showed a certain paralysis in facing that renowned place. A place that "magically" lit a spark inside him. A feeling of déjà vu.

"This place ..." he thought as he recalled an old dream when he was a child that even after so many years still remained intact in his memory

On the other hand Chris Redfield watched the wide desert and mountain range that hid the entrance to the Forbidden Cave.

"From above it doesn't look like there was any recent human activity. We should go down and investigate the place more closely" the captain suggested

Without questioning, the young follower only adhered to the plan of his leader.

Walking slowly, the soldiers noticed a few traces left by the local investigation. Boundary tracks bordered by a hidden entrance further south of the mountain complex that housed the infamous site.

"There are no records of this entry in the soldiers' diaries of that time nor anywhere else. There are only detailed records of Leonard Keane and Pierce Northman about the day of the incident..."

"They imploded the "garden" and exploded the main entrance that gave access to "room" that gave access to the garden where the herbs grew. It wasn't such a genius idea, but it was effective for the time where the technology was precarious. It declared the extinction of the herb to drive away scholars, but with the advancement of technology and the endless human acumen in exploring what should not have be brought back by the curiosity. At the time Mr. Lionel was the regent of the country and decreed a strong 24hrs security to the place that became a clause that is in force until today, however knowing the human character, he knew that there could be corruptions, so he even decided to watch himself the place on the sly from time to time..."

"I thought you didn't read your flash drive..."

"I didn't read Christopher Reed's romantic bullshit and Katarina's bitch's or their personal journals, but I read the files about the Black Herb that were in a separate folder. That's what matters to me, and not the fables of people who have died!"

"I understand... So do you think Mr. Lionel's real motive to ingest the very thing he protected was to avoid greater evil or could there be a darker motive behind all this "protection"?"

"I don't know... I somehow want to believe Mr. Lionel was a B.O.W. with good intentions and that in fact he did not want the recurrence of that incident that could happen in much larger scales in the hands of the present lunatics after so much technology and the advance of biomedicine, etc..."

"I also want to believe it ... But it's ironic that someone became what he protected..."

"Are you talking about the Guardian of the Black Herb?"

"Yes. Have you read about him? "

"Honestly there was nothing to be read. There was only the mention of it in one of the files I read, but no detail. That's why I believe that the guardian is Mr. Lionel himself, after all, that's what he did, right?"

Piers shrugged. He had nothing to question because it seemed logical his boss's explanation. However, something caught his attention, the fact that only Chris would be allowed to enter the cave. Why?

The young soldier wondered if this answer would be in the captain's flash drive, but apparently there was not. And that intrigued him even more.

"Do you think we should go in and investigate further?" The young man suggested

Chris stared at the small entrance of the cave and frowned thoughtfully. Something was uneasy inside him. He sighed deeply and let it out heavily, "Since we're here, let's do the job right! I'll check inside, and you stay here on guard, just in case..."

"Okay..."

Chris turned on the flashlight and entered the dark place. Initially it seemed to be an ordinary, narrow and uninteresting cave. Due to the evident absence of water in the surroundings, it was dry inside. Uninhabitable. There were no animals of any kind: bats, reptiles, nothing of the type that lives in the desert. And that's what caught his eye.

It was too clean.

It looked like a porch made of stones. It did not seem to be a natural work, but a human excavation.

On the sandy floor there were many other footprints, most likely of the murdered researchers.

Chris continued to stare intently. Every detail, every bit that the light revealed. Even though he was alone, he felt watched.

Chris brightened up every corner of the room, walls, floor and ceiling. He frowned with a very serious expression. Deep down, there was an almost unnoticeable micro camera hidden in the ceiling.

Thoughtfully, Chris stared at the camera.

"Chris" Piers entered the location causing the captain to turn around, "Jerry's out…"

Without further ado, they both left the scene and met Mr. Lionel's assistant.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your investigation, but you still don't have the jurisdiction of the venue, because Mr. Lionel's asset-sharing has not yet been finalized."

"Why is there a camera in there?" Chris asked ignoring the warning

"For the safety of the place."

"Safety? You call those plastic safety tapes? Do you call it guards? What's going on here?"

"Nothing is happening here…"

"5 researchers died here! How "nothing" is happening?"

"Five unfortunate fatalities! But the camera is only for the remote monitoring of onlookers. Watchmen are paid for the night"

"So during the day no one stays here?"

"During the day we have the camera and the motion sensor that alerts us if we should call the police... It is not only people who can enter the cave... animals too"

"Animals?" Piers asked in disbelief. There was no evidence of any animal presence anywhere.

"It's not common. Most of the time they are just curious people and adventurers who visit the place."

Piers and Chris looked at each other. Both had the same thought. There was more there than was not being told and obviously Jerry had been well trained not to reveal any information on the subject.

Without alternatives, the BSAA soldiers returned to the hotel and chatted at a couch at the reception.

"I don't believe this night watchmen thing. One of the researchers was killed at night and nobody knows anything? Something doesn't smell good on Jerry's ragged excuses!" Piers commented.

"I agree his explanations were a bit vague. 4 researchers were killed on daylight and one at night, and no one can explain why? If at night there are lookouts, why can't anyone explain the death too?"

"Or some watchman killed him, or maybe they killed all of them, or there is simply no watchman at night!"

Yana the receptionist listened to the boys' whispers and looked at the clock. Taking advantage of the fact that she was close to her break, she called in a substitute and waved at Piers to call for a discreet conversation in another place.

"I'm sorry to get myself in your business, but I couldn't help hearing you're investigating the researchers' deaths..."

"Do you know anything that might help us?" Piers asked taking advantage of the proximity he had with the redhead

"I don't know if I can help..."

"It's very important Yana! The local media is not helping at all. We don't even know the condition of their deaths" Chris pushed a bit

"It's not for bad... people are scared..."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of reprisals?" Piers asked

"Not exactly, but..."

"But?" Chris asked

"The people here are mostly superstitious ones..."

"The type that believe in the supernatural?" Piers asked

"They believe in anything!"

"But what does this have to do with their deaths?" Chris asked

"Everything! People are afraid to relive Arthena's panic. Did not you realize the ghost town it became? People still believe that the dead will rise from the graves and so most prefer to burn loved ones after the death instead of burying them. We heard of several incidents in the world that are very similar to what we experienced in the 18th century because of Katarina and the Walker brothers... there are people who believe she will come back and bring disaster again... Then out of fear people don't talk and not even the media... Katarina O'Gregon has cursed us and we are not willing to pay for it again"

"We understand, but pretending that nothing is happening also won't stop the curse of Katarina or any other lunatic just like her..." Piers commented

"And we can help, that's why we're here." Chris amended

"I believe you, and so I decided to talk to you, but I don't know if what I have heard can help you at all..."

"We decide whether it helps or not" Chris replied

"And I promise your name will not be quoted at any time," Piers assured her

She bit her lips reluctant but let out a sigh, "Parts of their bodies were dissolved by some acid or something like that..."

"Acid?"

"Yup... Acid produced by the desert monster, or Arthena's monster or simply cave monster...you decide how to call it"

"Cave Monster?" Chris raised an eyebrow

"Yes. Mysterious isolated deaths have occurred from time to time, but generally they were local people or people that no one missed. But all of them were explorers... there are reports of brief appearances of a monster living in the Forbidden Cave. No one has ever been able to prove its existence, but sometimes one or another person dies in the vicinity of the cave and no one dares to approach there."

"So are you saying there isn't any keepers in that place at all?"

"The only visitors to the place were Mr. Lionel and his assistant, Jerry. They denied the existence of the monster, but there are reports that there is and that the monster evolves, as the mysterious deaths have changed over the years. At the time of my grandparents some people were mysteriously torn apart. Some believed it was due to animals attacks, but I and many others believe it's because of the monster or maybe cave monsters!"

Chris and Piers looked at each other thoughtfully.

"And I say more. Some people were afraid of Mr. Lionel as lovely as he was…"

"Why?" Piers asked

"Ah... because he was... too old... I do not know..."

"Too old?" Chris raised an eyebrow

Yana began to laugh, "Not because of being old... I don't know why, but I think is because Mr. Lionel was a very mysterious despite being a very nice person... and I think it scared a little. Some people said that he could disappear and appear out of nowhere and there are many who do not believe he died…"

"What about you? What did he think of him?"

"Me? I think he did die and I had nothing against him. He helped a lot of people and even being a little weird, it never bothered me since I'm a little different too and I think it's super normal!" She started laughing

"And do you believe he had super powers?" Chris asked

"Yes!" She paused, "His super power was the good heart! The power of hope. The power of generosity, the power of affability... the power of love... I used to see him as a humble king"

"A humble king?" Piers said

"Yes, a humble king! He was captivating and looked after us as a real good sovereign, and I miss his presence. Every day I used to see him go to the museum, check the whole city, the historical centers to see if everything was working properly. He was a light being, and his light was captivating, he enlightened the city. He loved the nature, the animals, the children, the inhabitants... he took care of everything even if he being very old..."

"Yeah... he surely is missed…" Piers agreed

"Yes! He loved to talk and always smiled. He did not lose patience with anything and hey, a lot of people tried! But it seemed that he could see people's intentions or simply see our moods. Whether we were in a good mood or not. If we were tired or sick... he could see people's needs... strangely he reminded me of Christopher Reed..."

"Christopher Reed?" Chris said in surprise

"Yes, a very, very old Christopher, but the Christopher before Katarina destroyed him..."

Chris listened intently to what the beautiful redhead was saying.

"In history classes we studied the history of our country, the periods of prosperity, the outstanding personalities... Christopher Reed is one of them. All the cities he ruled lived periods of abundance and glory. He was a very righteous ruler. Of course Katarina the witch also had her part, but Christopher, besides being very handsome - lucky Katarina witch and Angelique - he was also very kind. Passionate. Determined. He made people believe in a better future and they really had a better future... Unfortunately he didn't... But despite everything, he did not give up and lived until his old age spreading the beauty through the legacy of Angelique and the wonderful paintings she made, or simply by helping people even with small attitudes..."

Chris swallowed hard, "But there is a but... Christopher hated Katarina. Only Mr. Lionel adored her..."

She shrugged, "I bet to disagree, I heard he never stopped loving her, he just kept raving in disappointment. It was not real hatred..."

"He never stopped loving because he never loved her... you can't stop something that never started!" he contested

"Katarina Reed O'Gregon was the woman he most loved and we all know it ... That's why Katarina still has some legacy apart from her big mistake"

"Is that what you learned in your history books?" He said wryly

"We actually learned this from him... through the last lost letter he wrote the day before he died..."

Chris gritted his teeth discreetly. He remembered a file called "Christopher's Final Letter," but he didn't open it, despite his curiosity. Thankfully he didn't do that since he'd just learned part of the file's contents. Melodrama. He had more important things to do than worry about someone else's romance bullshit.

Piers cleared his throat, "Well, anyway, this matter has no relevance to what we're really interested in here"

"I know, I just made a random comment...Sorry about that" Yana said apologetic

"We understand… so back to where we were, is there any more information you can give us about the murderers?" Piers asked

She shook her head in denial with a shrug, "I don't think so"

After the conversation, the trio split up. Piers took the time he had to spend with Yana since the field investigations were on-hold at the time, while Chris returned to the room and found Kate lying in bed.

But deep down, he could not stop thinking about "Christopher's Final Letter"

* * *

 **" _Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."_**

* * *

Whist Chris and Piers investigated the cave site, Kate spent time exploring the town, delighted by the beauty of medieval architecture in contrast to modernity.

The streets were very clean and organized. The people were a bit quiet but hospitable. A very different atmosphere than Edonia's.

In Bohma Kate felt at home...

After breakfast she went first to the museum. She needed to check out the change she had suggested to Lionel about Katarina and to her relief he had complied with her suggestion. She smiled as she admired the picture of the beautiful, elegant brunette. And discreetly she tried to imitate the expressions and grimaces of the old empress as she took selfies.

After leaving the museum she continued walking around the city taking pictures and recording videos of everything she saw. The real tourist dazzled.

She sat on a bench in the Central Plaza to drink a shake of strawberry, apple and banana with oatmeal while she thought about the next place she would visit. In Downtown, the main sights were not far apart from each other until the young brunette had a "brilliant" thought of visiting her future house.

She smiled to herself. It was still surprising that the prospects of her life had changed overnight. Of course she was aware that she was not yet the owner of anything, nor wealthy, but the curiosity allied with the enthusiasm of the future made her uneasy. She wanted, she needed to see with her own eyes, to know the place that her inspiring muse had lived in during her youth.

And she followed the impulse and guided by a strong intuition of how to get there without difficulty. Unfortunately it was closed for visitors, but outside she could see the beauty of the land that to her surprise was well maintained. The grass and the garden around the house were very green and well cut. It was hard to believe that this place had been abandoned for so long.

Even without being able to enter, she could not stop smiling and a delicious feeling of homecoming was taking hold of her spirit.

Of course she took photos and recorded a video to record the exciting moment.

As she put the cell phone in her purse, she felt a cool breeze on her skin. Although that day was a sunny day, it was autumn. The local temperature was nice. But that breeze...

The breeze seemed to have accelerated her heart and she began to feel strangely watched. She looked around and saw no one. The block around the O'Gregon's house was empty. Probably due to the bad reputation of the old regent it was not surprising the locals avoided that place.

She looked at the floor and the position of the sun revealed the reflection of two shadows causing Kate to feel an absurd shiver from head to toe when noticing someone was behind her. She swallowed, paralyzed. The vocal chords were completely mute.

"The good son returns home..."

A slightly husky female voice broke the silence, increasing the tension with the shock that the young brunette took, and in reflex she looked back.

"You?" She said, recognizing the old seer staring at her.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Actually I didn't expect anyone! What are you doing here?"

"The same as you..."

"Are you following me?"

"Is this how you feel about your destiny? Persecuted?"

"Not by my destiny, but you!"

"Do not worry about me, I will not hurt you..."

"But you're following me..."

"I'm sorry if that's the impression I gave you... that was not my intention"

"So, what are you doing here after all?"

"I came to accompany you on your journey"

"With all due respect, I didn't give you such intimacy..."

"You do not need intimacy to have company"

"You came out of nowhere and I don't even know you! I'm not sure I want your strange company..."

"You do not have to want to. You need it..."

Kate laughed nervously. How did she "need" the company of that strange woman?

"You know I'm friends with Lionel and I'm keeping the continuity of his work"

"He didn't tell me anything about you" Kate spoke with a shrug

"Why are you so defensive? I always gave you answers... and company..."

Kate frowned, "Company?" She thought.

"I do not understand what you're still doing outside when the gate is open... just enter"

"This house is not mine... yet..."

"You do not need permission to enter..."

"Of course I do!"

"Not you!" The woman spoke in a firm tone.

Kate fell silent. As much as that woman was mysterious and sometimes scary, something about her -or someone- respected that figure.

"What if someone..."

"Do not be afraid, nobody will catch you"

At that moment, a sudden fog appeared covering the block. Density hampered visibility beyond the boundaries of the terrain.

"What are you?" Kate asked impressed

The woman remained silent and gradually the aged appearance gave room to a more youthful appearance. She raised her hand softly. The serious features seemed more inviting.

"Are you ready to embrace your entire journey so far?"

A clang of metal was heard and slowly the rusting gate grille opened.

A torpor was taking hold of Katerina, her eyes heavy. The ground seemed to spin. Her body seemed to faint.

"Girl... hold on..." the woman spoke watching her attentively

The paradox of time was still too intense for Katerina to bear. Fear was flogging her.

"I cannot do this..." Kate spoke shakily, her legs reluctant to stand

"You can and you will!"

Kate closed her eyes, "The woman in black..." she spoke covering her eyes and holding her head

"Invite her... hug herself. This is your destiny, face it. Do not be afraid because I'm with you!"

Kate's legs finally succumbed to weakness, dropping her to her knees in a panic state. Confused.

The mysterious woman approached her and touched her chin, gently lifting her face and looked her deep in the eyes, "Katarina O'Gregon never runs away from the fight!" She said strictly

In that instant of time, the world seemed to be paralyzed.

The two of them stood staring at each other and flashes of scenes passed very quickly in her memory. Flashes that young Katerina had never seen even in dreams. Flashes still undecipherable for the young brunette on the ground.

"Ready to live the Return?"

The voice echoed deep inside her. Like a bell that awakens the attention, the voice had awakened it.

She took a deep breath and let out a long breath. Panic had dissipated. The confused face had become fearless. Serious. The transaction was complete.

She elegantly rose from the floor. There was no longer Katerina in charge of the emotions, but Katarina O'Gregon homecoming.

"We shall not waste any more time Moirai... All I need is inside there" the beautiful imposing young woman spoke taking the lead of the walk

* * *

 **O'Gregon Palace**

"It is amazing how things are exactly the way they were the last time I saw them even after so many years... there is not even dust!"

"Lionel made sure of maintaining the conservation of all major locations"

"It must expensive keeping such a maintenance…"

"The price is insignificant, the value of the memories is invaluable"

"There are memories here that are not very estimable and I would like to forget..."

Moirai remained silent and patiently waited the beautiful brunette to familiarize herself with a place so full of memory so vivid at that very moment, where time and space were one.

Katarina had recalled several moments of childhood in the not so distant century. The furniture so nicely polished almost as if they were new. They seemed better than in her own memory.

The young woman with the old soul watched every detail of every room. From the floor of waxed wood to the crystal chandeliers of each room.

The dining room and library served as training to mold the gypsy soul girl into a porcelain doll that contained the strongest and most intense emotions and secret aspirations behind beautiful smiles and coldly polished gestures.

The little girl who loved playing in the garden and being in touch with nature was sharply molded into the most perfect object of royalty.

The girl with the romantic soul was coldly shaped to be rationally aspiring to become at least a princess.

The intense suppressed emotions gave room to one of the brightest minds in the diplomatics and conflict dealings that had existed in Bohma.

Of course, so much suppression had become a time bomb. One cannot ignore one's essence without consequences.

Perfect diplomacy had become flammable and needed only sparks to combust.

Years of suppression generated an imminent tragedy.

Not even the powerful Katarina O'Gregon could keep centuries of suppression.

Hate, anger, disappointments, grudges, shame. All repressed. It could only gone wrong!

Now, after years, centuries of rehabilitation, Katarina faced everything that shaped her emotional breakthrough. She faced everything she had ever won. All that one day she lost. All that one day she forgot...

Forgot for fear. Forgot for denial. Forgot for need and protection.

And remembered by acceptance.

Acceptance of the destiny that awaited her. Acceptance of the destiny she was drawing. Acceptance of the destiny she constructed. Acceptance of the destiny she chose.

As she climbed the stairs to the old bedroom she could feel very familiar presences.

Presence of the energies of those who were no longer there. Presences from other dimensions of time-space. Presences invisible to naked eyes. Presences invisible to unprepared eyes.

The old bedroom was the same as it had been before she left that house that mostly belonged to her parents. The luxurious red wallpaper. The luxurious curtains were open. The king size bed with red silk bedspreads perfectly lined. The wooden floor was waxed and shiny. The most noble wood of the furniture as if it were new. The floor mirror with gold frame she so loved. The leather couch. The chaise-longue that so often served for her to vent with her then sister Elizabeth. The dressing table she adored so much. And behind the wooden screen was a door leading to the bathroom of the time. She loved the bathtub made of ivory where she several times bathed in bath salts and flower petals with the help of her sister or best friend Lucy.

Everything so perfectly maintained. It was hard to believe that there lived no one but the memories of the ones that were gone.

Upon returning to the bedroom, Katarina noticed at the corner near the wardrobe the old trunk that she had never been able to undo even when she was arrested, and only death was able to separate them.

The trunk of the greatest secret of that time. The trunk of her life. The trunk of her greatest attachment. The untouchable trunk. Or almost, because the lock was different now.

"How can I open it?"

In silence, Moirai handed her the new key.

Katarina took a deep breath, staring at the object, "I do not know if I can do this..."

"That's what you're here for... to set free"

"Difficult to free myself when the present condition of this body reminds me constantly of what I lost..."

"Do not condemn yourself Katarina. You've done it for a long time. You know the worst judges are ourselves..."

"I just wanted to have a family and live a great love story... with Christopher... get my Christians back..."

"The Christian who lives in him is already with you..."

"But until when? Until when will he be able to contain that Christopher who cannot stand me?"

"There is a saying: "Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it." It suits both of you. If you really love him, love him when he least deserves"

"But what about me?"

"Love yourself... and stop torturing yourself. Forgive and let go…"

Katarina looked at the trunk again. It took a while to gather the courage to unlock the lock, and even reluctantly she opened the lid.

She bellowed. Rivers of tears flowed incessantly. Finally Katarina O'Gregon cried for real. It was about time to get out of that eternal mourning. She leaned over the trunk sorrowful.

A small light appeared beside her. She did not even notice it. She was still blind with sadness.

Five more lights entered the room.

"Mommy?"

Katarina looked up in shock. Even with her eyes soaked she seemed to see five figures of children around her. She wiped her eyes quickly and saw nothing else. Only Moirai looked at her with an expression of confirmation that she was not crazy.

"They are here…"

"Why cannot I see them?"

"Set free"

"How?"

"Forgive yourself"

"But I need to know... I need to know if they will forgive me..."

"Does not their presence tell you anything at all? They even came in the purest form of innocent children to remind you of the time when you were happy together..."

"There are only five..."

"Actually six."

"But I had seven..." Katarina whispered saddened with the realization one was missing

"'That One' is here, right next to you all the time"

"Christian?"

"Yes..."

Katarina was shaking with excitement. She looked at the trunk and the contents inside. Some of the old belongings of all the children she had, especially the clothes she made for them during the pregnancies. Keeping those objects so special was the only way she found to feel close to them even when she was away when she ran away. When she was arrested. And also when she found the final end in the barn. It was their memories that made company for the lonely old Katarina. And also the famous emerald necklace that Christopher had made for her when they were still young.

The necklace was already back with her. Just like Christopher. But the most important was missing: the children.

She touched each of the belongings delicately, imagining she was touching them. It was time to move on. It was time for liberation. Homecoming.

With her eyes closed, she imagined each of them as she remembered when they were a happy family. Even the twins Henry and Melissa who were still babies the last time saw them.

A circle of light covered the old lady in black. Six lights.

She finally saw them when the tears had dried.

"Forgive me for failing with you... I never really wanted to leave you... But I tried to check on you even if at distance..."

"We know," said Philip

"We know mother" Beau said

"We know the truth" Lilly said

"Today we all know..." Maddy said

"Daddy..." Melissa said quietly, leaving the sentence in half

"Your father... I have hurt him a lot... but I have already forgiven him..."

"Hopefully..." Philip shrugged

"Yes, my son, I have forgiven him. I was the one who made the mistake for being so jealous..."

"She did not understand..." Beau commented looking at his siblings

"I did not understand what?" Katarina asked confused

"There's something you do not know..." Christian commented even though he had nothing to do with that story

"So tell me... what do not I know?"

"We can not... they are the one who have to tell you..." Maddy tried to explain with the typical sweetness

The children began to disappear. Just like the fog on the block.

"They who?" Katarina asked, starting to feel a very intense torpor.

"Daddy and Henry..."

It was all she could hear before she lost consciousness.

"Miss? Miss?"

Katerina heard a distant male voice. Her body felt heavy.

"Are you alright?"

She looked around. She was lying on the floor in front of the gate of the O'Gregon Palace and saw a man wearing a security uniform looking at her with concern.

"Who are you?" She asked, slowly returning to herself and sat down on the ground massaging her head

"I'm the security guard of the house. I was on my lunch break and when I came back I found you lying on the ground. Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'll be fine..."

"Can I help you in any way? Do you want some water?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine... just a bit tired..."

Katerina still looked confused, and was even more when she saw the security guard unlocking the lock that locked the chains curled in the gate rails. She didn't remember those chains, nor the padlock when she entered the property. Did she really come in?

She frowned in fear and got up quickly before the security man asked more questions than she could answer. She was very confused by what happened and returned to the hotel room and lied down in bed still thoughtful.

* * *

 **Thank you Pin** **for the review! :D**

 **Some culture info =D**

 **In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai or Moerae, often known in English as the Fates (Latin: Fata), were the white-robed incarnations of destiny. Their number became fixed at three: Clotho (spinner), Lachesis (allotter) and Atropos (literally 'unturnable' but metaphorically 'inflexible' or 'inevitable' – i.e. death).**

 **The Moirai in Greek mythology were the three sisters who determined the fate of both gods and human beings. They were three lugubrious women, responsible for fabricating, weaving and cutting what would be the thread of life for all individuals. During the work, the moiras make use of Wheel of Fortune, that is the loom used to weave the wires. The turns of the wheel position the individual's in its most privileged part (the top) or in its less desirable part (the bottom), thus explaining the periods of good or bad luck of all.**

 **Cloto (Κλωθώ; klothó) in Greek means "spinning", holding the spindle and weaving the thread of life. Clotho acted as the goddess of births and beginnings.**

 **Lachesis (Λάχεσις; lachesis) in Greek means "to draw" pulling and wrapping the woven thread. Lachesis acted out by passing the share of assignments earned in life.**

 **Atropos (Ἄτροπος; atropos) in Greek means "to depart", it cut the thread of life. Atropos determined the end of life.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **So that's the last chapter of 2018, I cannot believe it! I'm writing this for so long but is just this long because I kept the saga in the same history. I could've separate them just like I did with my other stories that have separate files, but I thought that if I separated this one people could get confused about some details and wouldn't search the other link to understand the whole book if they started reading in a different order.**

 **I appreciate everyone who still reads the book and I can say that more and more we are closer to the end!  
Soon we will face a large time skip and after that Chris will have to make his final decision... O.O**

 **Happy New Year!**

 **We see next year! xD**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	69. Homecoming Part 2

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

A few hours passed, Chris had finished his shower when he noticed Kate finally sitting up in the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked noticing her silent behavior

She nodded in confirmation

"How was your day?"

"Good…what about your investigation"

"Good too"

"Did you find out anything?"

"I'm not sure I can share that with you…"

"I won't tell anyone!"

"It's not because of that, but because I think is still too soon to make assumptions…"

"I see…"

Yes, she was too silent. Usually Kate didn't have such short replies when interested about something.

"I'm starting to get hungry, do you want to go out and have dinner or order the hotel's room service?"

"You can do whatever you want. I'm not hungry"

"Are you sure"

She nodded in confirmation. Letting out a heavy sigh she stood up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to fill the hydro to take a bath.

"Kate?"

She looked at him while she waited the tube to fill.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on…"

"Come on…you're quiet and distant"

"So are you"

"Maybe I am, but I'm working on an investigation. I have things to think about, while you're not the same as when you woke up…"

"It's your impression"

"No, I'm sure it's not my impression. Did something happen during the day that affected you?"

"What's the point in telling you something you don't like to talk about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Katarina…"

He frowned at the mention of her name, "What about her?"

"Do you really want to know what happened?"

"Of course! I may not like that woman but it doesn't stop me from listening to you and how you relate to her…"

"It's not what it seems when you hear her name or when you curse her for no reason"

"I'm sorry if I cause you that impression…So tell me…what happened?"

"I went to see her house…my future house…"

"The O'Gregon's property?"

"Yes"

He made a face, "And how was it?"

"Weird…"

"Weird?"

She nodded

"As in?"

"I don't know how to explain but it was like one minute I was there and then I wasn't…"

"I'm not following you…"

"Sorry…it's just I'm still trying to understand what happened that made faint…"

"Did you faint?"

She nodded in confirmation

"And you didn't tell me that?"

"I'm fine already…"

"Yet that doesn't change the fact that you fainted and were not telling me that"

"Like I said…I was just saving you from hearing the mention of her name because usually I feel flamed by your acid comments on her…"

Once again he apologized for making her feel that way. It wasn't his intention to make her feel insulted. As she told him her story, he couldn't help the thought that maybe there was a real curse about Katarina O'Gregon.

"So you can't remember if you did enter the house or not…"

"I feel like I did enter the house but…at the same time it doesn't feel like it was me…I was right in front of the gate, it's nearly impossible my eyes not have seen all those rolled chains locking the gates…"

"Maybe you were too excited staring the house…it happens sometimes…"

"I don't know Chris…Why I don't feel it was just my distraction?"

"Because we tend in not admitting our limitations or whatever opposites our beliefs…"

She gave a shrug. He had a good point. Maybe he was right or maybe there was a missing piece in that puzzle.

Back to normality, the couple left the hotel to have dinner at a restaurant.

"Now that your investigation is suspended for the meantime, how about we going to see your future house tomorrow?"

"Sure…"

Later back to the hotel room, the couple was sleeping soundly when Chris started having a dream.

 **Flashback**

Initially, Chris saw himself standing before a stone cottage near a waterfall and a river. He headed to the porch and saw a bench. Then the image changed when he witnessed a young man talking to an older man that reminded him of his friend and almost father figure-like, Barry Burton.

The older man closed a trapdoor on the ground of the large fireplace while the young man was sitting at the dining table.

"It's already visible the alteration in the waters current due to the alteration in the river's course. Soon that waterfall and river will disappear. What a pity!"

"Yeah, I noticed that. It surely ruins all my plans!" the young man mumbled

"You'd better find a new route to see your girl…" the older man spoke with a shrug

"What?" the young man almost jumped out of the chair in surprise

The older man laughed, "Oh my son Christian, I know those distant gazes and sighs of yours. I used to have them for your mother…"

Christian grinned, "I never felt it before…"

"I know that… I know you. I don't want to sound too proud but that girl is a very lucky girl for having my son, my most precious jewel!"

"And I'm lucky for being loved by an angel…"

"She must be really special to make you sail the river so many times"

"She's worth it! My sweet gypsy Kate is totally worth it!"

"Is that her name?"

"Katherine, but I prefer calling her Kate or Kat sometimes…"

"It's a pretty name. I look forward to meeting her"

"I look forward for that too father… she's very special and makes me the happiest man!"

"I can see that. But is still hard for this old father to deal that his son is not a boy anymore…"

Christian looked embarrassed with his father's comment, "Dad…"

"Who's her family?"

"The O'Rileys"

The smile on the older man's face faded at the mention of the O'Rileys. He had heard bad rumors about their daughter Katherine.

"Is Katherine O'Riley the one you're fornicating?"

"We're not fornicating…"

"How not? They say she's not a virgin anymore"

"They're lying! She's still a virgin…"

"The fact she didn't give it to you doesn't mean she hadn't given to others…"

"She has proved she's still is a virgin. Her parents make constant verifications of her virginity since the rumors were spread by envious and evil people!"

"But it wasn't people, but her sister who said it…"

Christian's eyes widened in shock, "What? Angeline said it?"

"She did. She said her sister and a fisherman fornicate in this cottage…she saw it"

Christian was stunned. He knew the sisters had some divergences but he never imagined Angeline would do something like that and slander her own sister.

"She lied! I never touched Kate that way… all we do is kissing…We won't do more than that until we get married…" half true, but his father didn't really need to know about their oral practice

The man inhaled and let out a long sigh, "I'll believe you son, but be careful with the envy sister…"

"I will dad… but can I say something else?"

"Sure"

"Could I have your bless when Kate and I get married"

The man smiled kindly, "You already have my bless son. Your happiness is all that matters to me!"

Their conversation was interrupted when knocks on the door was heard. Christian headed to answer it.

The scenario changed.

He frowned staring the beautiful brunette wearing a sumptuous red silky dress smiling large at him, "Katarina…"

"Good morning, mon amour!"

"What are you doing here?"

She gave a peck on his lips and smiled inviting herself to enter the cottage.

Christopher watched her pass by him.

"So this nasty and apparent abandoned cottage is Christopher Reed's biggest secret or should I say where he keeps it?" she said staring the open trapdoor in the fireplace and the open trunk on the table.

"You shouldn't be here! I told you to wait at the manor"

She took another glance at the drunk's content.

Christopher closed it right away noticing her interest.

She grinned, "I knew there was another story behind that emerald necklace you gave me because I knew you would never be capable of stealing anyone, besides stealing my heart but that is another subject…So I wanted to ask you about the emerald's true origin but now I have my answer! Who would say that the 'simple' knight Christopher Reed is actually a man of possessions, maybe even more than the O'Gregon's! Now my father cannot say no to us…"

"If you really love me, you won't tell this to anyone! Plus I'm not willing to buy a bride…"

She laughed stepping closer to him, biting her lips seductively as she rolled her arms around his neck, "I am not for sale either! But my love for you is free…" she whispered on his ear before nibbling his earlobe

He frowned moving away, "You don't love me. You kissed Leonard and bedded Charles…even if just once…as per you say"

"Are you jealous?"

"It doesn't matter. It proves me you don't love me like you say…"

"So since we are exchanging secrets, let me tell you mine…" she moved closer again and leaned close to his ear, "I never let him cross the gates and enter the manor…I am still saving it for you…"

He gasped, "What?"

"Do not you get figurative speech, ma chérie?"

"He said he bedded you!"

She smirked, "In his dreams he did!"

"You admitted it too!"

"I know what I said, but I was mad at you for bedding that bitch…Abigail, so I said it to test you"

"So now are you saying you never bedded him?"

"I did not say that…I said I did not let him in…but I sorrowfully admit he was the first man to see me and touch me naked…We did lie on his bed but I regretted it and I never let him in…and I have told you I regret bedding him…even it being on incomplete terms…"

"It doesn't make any sense. He told me he had you!"

She smirked, "Men and their pride! Of course the petit cock did tell you that or do you really think a prince would admit to his ultimate rival that he have been rejected by the woman they compete?"

"I don't compete for you…"

"You do not have to! I am already yours…but I was just saying it figuratively…again..."

"So mine that you let another man touch you naked… what kind of love is that which takes revenge?"

"I am the one who asks you what kind of love is yours?"

"I never said I loved you!"

"So why do you kiss me when no one is watching? Why do you look at me with desire and tease me and then rejects me when we stay alone? Why do you always kiss me back?"

"You're temptation to sin. I'm a man and I enjoy the foreplay…"

"You want me!"

"Then I remember this is wrong…"

"Wrong is you and I not living our love!"

"We can't love! Your father already gave us a loud no!"

"That trunk can change his mind!"

"I told you I won't buy a bride, I'm not like Charles!"

"This is not buying a bride, but my father's approval!"

"We should accept we're not meant to be…this is not our fate…"

"I make my fate! I will never accept we are not meant to be because we are meant to be if we fight together!"

"Kat…"

"Chérie, for you I am capable of doing anything! If you run I run. If you jump I jump! But never tell me to let go of you because I never will!"

He looked down with his hands on his chest. A sudden sharp pain hit him hearing those words. Fear and guilt came to his mind. Fear of a tragedy could happen if he allowed them to live their love. Guilt if a tragedy would come for living their love. He didn't want that to happen. He wanted to believe love was a good thing and bring joy. Not tragedy.

Katarina came over him and touched his chest delicately with concern. Their eyes met and a warm sparkle embraced them. The pain started to cease and a sparkle of hope crossed him mind. Maybe he could give them a chance. Maybe together they could stand up for their love without having to run away. He didn't want to run away! He didn't believe that was an option even knowing they could do it and live well with his inherited gems. A part of him wanted to believe Katarina O'Gregon could let go of the luxury she was used to and live with him a simpler life – just like the beautiful sweet gypsy girl of his dreams.

He placed back the trunk into its hide and covered it. They returned to the main house and Katarina proved him she had the good domestic skills she had been trained to be a good wife. She took care of him by pampering him while he struggled with the ceasing chest pain. She refused to leave him alone knowing he wasn't completely healed. He liked her company. He hated himself for feeling he could be playing with her heart out of fear in not accepting he wanted to be only hers too.

Fear of the unknown separated them.

Although, that day was the start of their brief courtship that led to the tavern night when he entered her gates and planted a seed in her fertile yard that unfortunately died too soon increasing the guilt and fear he felt all the long.

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

Chris woke up with a start, sweating and choking. Kate was sitting up watching him with concern.

"Chris…"

He still couldn't answer. Confused.

Kate placed her hand on his chest, caressing his hair as she laid his head against her chest in support. That helped calming him down. He could hear her heart beating.

Kate was not only the girl he loved to make love, she was excellent in taking care of him. Always have been. From his office to his life. More and more he gained courage to tell her how significant she was to his life.

Strangely, Kate had the same warm touch Katarina had in his dream.

He looked up to be sure he wasn't dreaming and they weren't the same woman.

They weren't.

He wasn't Christopher Reed. She wasn't Katarina O'Gregon.

That was a relief to him, somehow…

"Are you feeling better?" she asked him

He nodded, "Thanks to you"

"I was worried about you. I woke up with your groans and you didn't seem to hear me…"

"It was just a stupid dream…"

"Bad dream you mean!"

"Yeah, a very stupid bad dream…"

"Will you tell me?"

"Not now…"

"Okay"

"What time is it?"

"10AM"

"This late?"

She chuckled, "Well, considering we went to sleep almost in the morning, it's not that late…"

"Yeah, what about you? Are you feeling better and willing to come with me to see house I won't keep?"

"Yeah, I'm brand as new!"

Arthena now was divided in two: New Arthena and Old Arthena.

New Arthena kept the same type of contrast of the other towns, buildings with baroque and enlightenment styles combined with the modernity of plaques, lights and cars. While Old Arthena remained in ruins since the flood in the 18th.

To go to the part of Old Arthena where Christopher Reed's house located, they took a cable car. A 30 minutes trip and after that they had to go by walk until the ghost town, a fifteen minutes walk.

"Welcome to Old Arthena" Kate read loud

Chris laughed, "That's the most sarcastic plaque I've ever seen and I have seen a lot!"

"I agree…They say people avoid approaching this border…now I can see why. It surely looks haunted!"

"Thanks to your muse…"

"Oh no, don't blame her for the flood! She didn't have that power!"

"Maybe…" he spoke with a shrug

As they walked observing the empty medieval styled houses and buildings and messed streets taken by sand and vegetation, they could see how superstitious the inhabitants really were as their regents never bothered to clean it or restore the ghostly town.

"Do you know where your house is?"

"Well, I got a map here. I hope I'm getting the right coordinates" he replied looking at his cell phone

"If the town is like that, I wonder if this house really exists…" she spoke feeling spooked

"If the house doesn't exist, why would Lionel troll me? There must be something there…"

"I agree…I'm just saying…"

"Isn't Katarina's house abandoned either?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't look like no one lives there. It's really well maintained!"

"Well, it's easier keeping something in a populated place than in an abandoned one"

"I know, but her house is in an isolated portion of town as well"

"Not as isolated like that one…I'm sure!" Chris replied pointing at the distant castle across the street

They stood by the gate, the wall covered by plants. Inside the long yard covered by high grass and trees. Certainly that land wasn't so well maintained as the other ones.

"I'm sorry to say that but it looks like a ghost castle…I'm not sure I want to get in there…" Kate said feeling some shivers

"I don't think we should go inside, I guess it would be invasion of private property, no?"

"I thought the same about Katarina's and there was a guard there…"

"Yeah, but it's like I said, that part of town is populated…" he replied with a frown as he noticed a small camera near the gate

Kate followed his gaze and soon they heard footsteps coming from inside the property and a security guard greeted them at the gate door.

"May I help you?"

"Hi…Uhm, I'm sorry to bother… my name is Chris Redfield and I received Mr. Lionel's notice about this house and I just came to check it even if from outside…"

"Christopher Redfield, the BSAA captain?" the man asked

"Yes, that's correct"

"I have been warned about your possible visit. You have permission to enter the property, would you like to come in?"

Chris and Kate exchanged gazes simultaneously.

"Sure…" Chris replied with a shrug and some uncertainty as he watched Kate's reaction

The security man unlocked the doors lock and opened the rusted gate, "Be careful to not get hurt with the trees branches"

Chris protected Kate as they followed the man.

"I know the outward area doesn't look good because Mr. Lionel wanted to keep outsiders away as much he could, but I assure you the main house doesn't look that bad"

"So all this vegetation is to scare people and make them think there's nothing valuable inside…" Kate commented

"Does it work?" Chris asked recalling the security camera

"It's been a while some curious people tried to trespass the walls. Most people think it's a haunted town, and a haunted castle, so they don't come"

"Is it?" Kate asked

"I can't say. I never heard or saw anything out of the usual…"

"Aren't you scared of working at such an isolated place?" she asked

"Not really. I have a good salary and I don't have much to do…"

"How many securities work here?" Chris asked

"4. We work every other day"

"Oh I see…"

"It's not hard to imagine this used to be a very beautiful place back in the days…" The man commented as they stood before the main house.

"This place…" Chris thought surprised with the similarity with the house he used to see in his dreams

Kate shared the same surprise as she recalled some dreams as well.

"The land is large. This is the main house where Christopher and his family used to live. To the east there's the guest house and where there was a vegetable garden. At the southwest there is the ruins of the stable and barn, and also the mausoleum ruins. Further to the east side there's the jungle of the property. No one has the permission to pass the gate to it, but you, who will be the owner of the entire land"

"So you never went there?" Kate asked

"Not really. No one dares to go there"

"I thought you said you never heard or saw anything out of the usual?" Chris commented

"I never did, but an old coworker did see a figure wandering around there at night one time during a round"

Kate's legs trembled hearing that as a cold shiver took over her body.

The man's pager beeped and he excused to answer it.

Kate observed Chris's behavior, from all the directions cited, he looked more at the east side.

"You're not considering going to the ghost jungle, are you?" she asked reluctant

"Yes I am…"

"Why?"

"I have a feeling I should go there…"

"And what's in there according to your feeling?" Kate asked

"If I'm not wrong that part of the land had some proximity with the Peasant Province way back in the days before the river's course change"

"Meaning?" she raised an eyebrow

"I want to go there… The Bohma River used to cross this land…"

"It must be dry by now…"

"True but I want to see what's left in there. Mr. Lionel wouldn't forbid ingress for no reason…"

"Probably because he didn't want to find people's dead bodies by heart attacks for seeing ghosts!"

"I'm not scared of ghosts. I fight B. ! You don't have to come with me if you're scared to death…"

"Haha, and you're thinking of leaving me alone and behind?"

"I'm only one. I can't stay here with you and go there at the same time…"

Kate bit her lips scratching her head.

"I'm sorry I took so long…."

"Ahh" Kate screamed jumping in scare upon hearing the guard's sudden voice behind her making her almost cry in scare. She was too spooked and anything could scare her more than the usual.

Chris couldn't help the laugh and pulled her to a hug in support.

"I'm sorry for scaring you…"

"Man, don't ever do that again! I'm almost having a heart attack here…"

"Oh, is it because of the ghost story?"

She nodded in confirmation, "He wants to go in there…"

"You said I have permission, but I'm not sure if I can do that now as I'm not the owner yet"

"Sure you can do that, I brought the keys with me"

Kate let out a heavy frustrated sigh. She didn't want to hear those words.

"Kate, I said you don't have to come with me"

"No offense, but I refuse to be left behind by you, chérie!"

Chris moved his brows quickly upon hearing her statement, so similar to the one he heard in his dream early the morning.

"Well, I don't have permission to go with you, so I'll return to my post. You find me at the house when you're done"

Chris opened the locks. Kate closed her eyes and made the cross sign as she prayed to gain courage to pass the gate.

Chris led the way, keeping his guard up. He followed the memory of his dream.

Kate kept her guard and senses in extreme alert. Her heart almost leaving her mouth. Things were too easy, that didn't smell good.

They felt observed despite hearing only the birds chirping.

"Do you know what are you looking for or where we're going?" she asked almost whispering

"I want to confirm something..."

"Confirm what?"

Chris didn't answer. His body froze. His face expression beyond stunned. His heart throbbing in his throat and a sudden torpor hit him.

Kate's hands covered her open mouth. Her teary eyes widened in shock. Her legs trembling. Struggling to remain standing, she held tight on Chris's left arm.

Just like in a familiar scene both had during some dreams.

The dreams at the fisherman's cottage, aka Christian Greencamp's. The cottage where he and his beloved Katherine O'Riley used to meet.

What the hell was going on, Chris Redfield questioned. How could he have dreamed of a place he had never been to?  
Obviously the place was a bit different now. There were centuries of alterations. Nature continued its course.

In the other hand Kate was mesmerized. Despite the initial shock, she was happy to be sure she wasn't crazy for believing Chris was her beloved Christian, the man from her dreams. The seer was right.

Once upon a time those souls had been the protagonists of a tragic love story. Now they were the protagonists of a life based on skepticism.

Kate was right, the river course and the waterfall had dried, but the stone cottage remained still even if in decay among the vegetation that surrounded it.

The wood bench, now broken, was still there. The same bench Christian and Katherine used to sit and enjoy the nature sounds and admire the old waterfall while hugged and making plans for the future that never came.

The remains of the boat they used to sail through the now dried river was there as well. That same river united them. That same river separated them. Over and over the centuries.

The wood door was partially open.

Chris needed more answers.

"Where are you going?"

"Going inside"

"Are you out of your mind? That place is in ruins!"

"You stay here. I'll go alone"

"Chris…"

"I'll be careful"

"But Chris…"

"Kate…I need to check something…"

Even reluctant, Kate let go of him. Tears cored down her delicate face skin. Chris gently wiped them away and planted a kind kiss on her lips, "Everything is going to be alright"

"This house is too old…I don't want it falling on you…"

"It won't!"

"You can't be sure"

"You can't be sure it will fall either, plus I'm not going upstairs. Just in the living room or where I think is the living room…"

She swallowed, "Be careful my love…and be quick"

"I will…"

After giving her another kiss, he walked carefully to the cottage's door and opened it slowly. He turned on his cell phone's flashlight to illuminate the interior. The remains of furniture were covered with fabrics. There were too much dust, spider webs. A dreary environment.

Carefully he moved into the house without touching anything. He turned to illuminate the fireplace. It was exactly like the one he saw in his dream, only decayed.

He knelt down near the fireplace and moved the wood and the dirt, revealing a trapdoor with a lock. He bit his lips and inhaled before breaking the rusty lock.

He frowned perplexed as the light illuminated the wood trunk inside the pit.

"Chris?" he turned to the side upon hearing Kate's voice at the door, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…"

She moved into the house carefully as she was curious to see what took Chris's attention in the fireplace, "What's in there?" she asked pointing her cell phone's flashlight to him

"An old trunk…"

"A trunk?" she said kneeling next to him

"Yeah…"

"How did you know it was there?"

He gave a shrug, "I didn't…"

She laughed, "How not? You came here for this, didn't you?"

"Kate…I'm as surprised as you…I didn't know it really existed…"

"Did you learn about it in your flash drive?"

He didn't reply. He didn't want to get into superstitious matters.

She noticed his silence, but that didn't stop her to push a bit more, "Do you know what's inside?"

He made a face, "Let's find out, but first, do you promise keeping this a secret?"

"Of course! My lips are sealed about our treasure hunt!"

Kate illuminated the pit while Chris used his hands to open the lid. If the dream was correct, there should have emerald rough stones in there, if anyone else hadn't taken it.

Kate looked thoughtful. She recalled one of Katarina's notes about some emeralds stones she and Christopher had to sell to save Arthena's from bankruptcy during a moment of crisis.

"Are you looking for the emeralds?" she asked taking Chris's attention

"Yeah…How do you know it?"

"They're not there…Christopher and Katarina sold them to save Arthena from a period of crisis…"

Chris frowned in frustration. Why did he have a dream of something that wasn't there anymore? Immediately he opened the lid and just like Katerina had warned him, there were no emeralds there.

"So what am I doing here? What's the purpose of that stupid dream?" he murmured standing up annoyed

"Did you dream about it?"

"Yeah I did! Happy now for knowing about it?"

"Hey, don't throw your anger at me…"

"Sorry… It's just that… why did Lionel leave me this useless land? How did he think I'd keep the maintenance of it if I decide to keep it?"

Kate shrugged, "The answer might be in the flash drive you refuse to read…"

"I read the content about the black herb and the supposed Guardian of the Black Herb"

"Guardian of the Black Herb?"

"Yeah…it's something Piers and I will investigate later…Maybe it's the connection with the mysterious deaths"

"I see…"

"Anyways...Let's see the house and then get back to the hotel. I can't believe I wasted my time for nothing!"

Kate gave another look in the direction of the trunk while Chris headed to the door hurriedly. It was when they heard a loud noise apparently coming from the ground which scared Kate to the core, making her run outside.

The cottage that once was meant for sweet memories was now a scary place.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, all I know I'm getting the hell out of here!" she spoke in panic

"No, I want to get to the bottom of it"

"No Chris, please…let's get the hell out of here! That must be the ghost angry at us…"

"What ghost? There's no ghost!"

"Chris come on…I'm almost dying here…" she spoke in tears

"I told you to stay with the guard"

She couldn't contain her tears and looked at the direction of where the waterfall used to stay, her face went blank after seeing a white figure running quickly through the trees. That was enough for her.

Chris managed to prevent her abrupt fall and held her. He was divided in leaving her alone in that panic state and follow the footsteps he heard at distance. He was now sure it wasn't his imagination feeling observed since they got in there

"Please…I can't stay here any longer…"

Worried about her condition he decided to obey to her plead and carried her until the main house. All the way Kate kept her eyes very sealed.

"Oh my god, what happened?" the guard asked in concern

"Do you have a glass of water with sugar to give her?"

"Sure"

"I don't want water, I just want to leave this fucking place!"

"We're safe now"

"Safe? Ghosts can go anywhere!"

"Kate, that wasn't a ghost…"

"No? That albino thing is not a ghost? Is it a person for you?"

"What? Did you see the ghost in the daylight?" the guard said in surprise when he returned bringing the glass of water

"Yes, the ghost story is real!" Kate almost yelled

"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" Chris said

"Sure"

"What happened to the guard that saw it?"

"He quit"

"Oh…" Chris said disguising his frustration

"I don't know how you can work in such a place knowing there's a ghost out there!"

"I need to pay the bills and I follow strictly the rules. My shift starts at 8AM and finishes at 8PM, I never go that far in the property. My job is to look out for this house and that's it, just like all the other guards. Our job is to keep the house, not the land. Plus, that gate is always locked. No one gets inside without permission"

"And who have the permission to go there?"

"Only Mr. Lionel, his assistant Jerry and you"

Chris made a face hearing the assistant's name again. Apparently he was Mr. Lionel's second in command man.

Kate made a spooked expression, "That means I wasn't allowed and…and maybe that's why the ghost showed up to me…All because of my fucking habit of never letting go of you! It just puts me in trouble!"

"Sorry about that…But I told you otherwise. Don't blame me for your decisions" Chris snapped

"I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying it!"

The couple didn't stay longer in the property. Their walk back was silent.

Chris was thoughtful about the whole thing and Jerry's name involved in it as well.

Kate seemed now to understand why Katarina didn't like that property.

They needed to read files again.

Back at the hotel room, Kate decided to take a relaxing bath in the hydro. Chris left the room and headed to Piers' to discuss that day's events and set a plan of action to investigate Jerry's role in the whole story.

* * *

 **Thank you McTamale** **for the review! :D**


	70. To Love Again

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

A few days have passed since Chris visited Arthena's house with Kate. Still under strong suspicions about Jerry, he and his promising successor continued investigations into the mysterious deaths around the Forbidden Cavern.

In the other hand, Jerry realized the movement of the soldiers' duo and watchmen were hired to watch over the site. And while Chris and Piers could not approach the location, they continued to study the flash drives they received from Mr. Lionel for any clue they might have missed.

 **Hotel, Piers' Room**

"Apparently, the supposed guardian seems to be a recent invention. At no point did Pierce or Christopher mention any supernatural activity in that cave" Chris commented, letting out a heavy sigh

"Not exactly, we still need to read Christopher's personal diaries, including his 'Final Letter'"

"These personal diaries are the dispensable part of his story. There are intimate relationships venting related to his family and his love life, no big deal"

"Have you read them?"

"I read some and stopped. I don't care about his personal life, besides, the files would not be separated by themes if his personal life were so relevant to his official reports"

"Maybe you're right, but that doesn't mean that all files have been properly separated"

Chris gasped, "Lionel had centuries to arrange each one of them and order them in the correctly!"

Piers sighed in defeat. His boss was too stubborn and very reluctant to read files that could be valuable to the ongoing investigation, "So give me your flash drive, I'll read all the files myself, as for tomorrow you'll be busy with Kate celebrating her birthday"

"What?"

"Come on, I can continue the investigation alone since I'm not afraid of reading about his intimacy"

"Whose tone is this Piers? And who told you I'm afraid to read about his intimacy? I'm not afraid of it!"

"No tone Chris, but your reluctance is evident, and I don't see any problem checking it to make sure we have read as much information as possible about the case. Sometimes people vent about important details in diaries and not in official reports"

Chris breathed deeply again, but to prove his point in not being afraid of it, he handed the flash drive to the young soldier, "You have 48hrs to read all you can, after that you give it me back and tell me if you have found anything that helps in the investigation"

Piers nodded and picked up the small device. Without further ado, Chris returned to his and Kate's room.

As Piers read the diaries of young Christopher Reed, a strange sensation clutched his chest and a sense of sadness plagued the young soldier's mind, especially when he made comparisons between what he knew about Pierce and perceived so many things in common in the dispute that those men had about the same woman that strangely resembled what he and his boss had briefly about Kate.

In Pierce's notes, he always kept in mind in advance to make plans for Katarina's birthday. He knew how much she appreciated that date, just like Kate.

However, Christopher won the "contest" and didn't seem to value the woman next to him, and this indifference of Christopher's hurt Pierce deeply until the day he himself had to learn how to act indifferently towards Katarina as a form of self-preservation.

A self-preservation that Piers himself seemed to understand and put it into practice towards Kate during their complicated relationship.

Maybe if he had allowed himself to enjoy more of what they had, maybe he would be celebrating her birthday the next day.

Maybe if he would've had the courage to face that fear for no apparent reason, there would be him with Kate.

Maybe if he hadn't taken so long to acknowledge that they might indeed be a couple, she might not have had so many doubts and would not have paid attention to Chris, or vice versa.

Maybe if he had taken up and stared with dignity at his own shadow, he might not have lost Kate so easily.

Sorrowfully Piers recalled how things had changed in a year.

In the previous year he was the guy celebrating her day during a romantic trip they made for Hawaii.

She was dazzling that wonderful night, her broad smile brightened the refreshing night. Her high laughter inspired his soul.

At that time it was just him in her heart and no one else, and he was sure of it.

That night they made love for several hours, both were insatiable.

That night he felt complete as he had never felt before, and for a moment he could imagine a future by her side, and he almost asked her to marry him the next morning. Almost.

But fear and duty spoke louder. Fear of going too fast paralyzed him, the fear of her saying no did immobilize him, and the remembrance of his duty as a soldier through Chris's voice echoed in his memory sealed any other opening of such a thought that he might have from that moment on, even though they were still together in their complicated way.

Who would have thought that the man who once warned him about the dangers of getting involved in work and with Kate would be the man who now lived with her in a serious and intense relationship.

The man who warned him about getting involved with her was now the man who had faced everyone for her.

No training he had gone through had prepared him for this terrible pain of love disillusionment, for when he finally tried to take her fight for her love, it was too late. Kate had already made her choice. Just like him.

He was wrong to think he would have more time.

But on the other hand he was sure that even for a little while he could live the love by the side of the woman he most loved.

He had the good fortune to live a love of only the two of them, without sharing. The same didn't happen to Pierce that even after all the love proofs he had given to Katarina, he still had to deal with sharing the small space he had in her heart with Christopher.

Pierce Northman lived to his last days with the frustration of never having fully loved his beautiful lover, the most overwhelming passion he had ever felt. The most dangerous adventure he ever had.

But Piers did. Even though for a few months... Piers Nivans was able to live entirely the love with the woman he most desired.

And perhaps there was a blessing in having read Pierce's confidences during the time of transition. Pierce's reflections served in some way as a sort of consolation to his confusion, or desolation, when he realized that there was someone else in Kate's heart. Someone who had the same name as the old friend /rival in love field of Piers': A Christopher.

With a nibble of lips and a long sigh, Piers continued reading every file, moving on with his duty.

* * *

 **Chris and Kate's Room**

Kate was lying on the bed with the laptop on her belly while reading a diary of Katarina's. She needed to understand the dynamics of Katarina and Christopher's relationship as a couple, and she could see that in addition to the problem of inadequate communication, they were both very proud people despite Christopher's good-hearted fame.

With her, Christopher seemed to be another man for most of the marriage. Everything with her had always been different, and Kate needed to understand why that difference. Or at least try to understand for being now on the outside of the situation, as for not even Katarina had been so capable to move the rock that formed around her beloved man's heart. The rock that hid Christian.

As she read Katarina's diaries and outbursts, she could see the famous emotional control Katarina had most of the time- so different from her, and a control the young brunette was trying to rediscover in herself.

But that high control of Katarina was often tested with Christopher and the great stubbornness that the famous soldier had.

It was common for both of them to quarrel over the ghost of Anqelique that haunted their relationship. Katarina's insecurity in that matter made her lose her temper, especially at the beginning of the marriage when Christopher refused to consummate their marriage or simply touch her intimately and as a woman, but did other women/hookers.

Katarina often remembered the period of flirtations and the brief courtship they had. How many times had they kissed on the sly, or at a blind spot inside the labyrinth garden in Katarina's house. The couple had an adventurous side and when they were together they seemed to enjoy breaking the taboos of the time and living the fear of being caught in the act, even Christopher who sometimes seemed reluctant at first, but always surrendered to Katarina's fetish that was secretly the same as his.

Since they were young, the couple liked to be in danger together. They liked to feel strong emotions together. And challenges.

When together, Christopher and Katarina were a unique couple, with a unique dynamic.

Christopher's apparent reluctance served as fuel for Katarina's quest for conquest, and she always seemed to be able to melt her beloved man, besides enjoying playing "punishment."

And the most interesting thing about reading Katarina's confessions during adolescence was the realization that such a "play" had not been a mechanism created by Katarina to get her husband's attention during their marriage, but it was something that began during their flirtation. Of course it was in a very lightweight manner, but it progressed during their courtship. And just like Christian and Katherine who had a sexual relationship without penetration for a long time, so did Christopher and Katarina, but in a somewhat more intense level even during courtship since after the ice break/Christopher's initial hesitance, there had penetration either by Christopher's long fingers or full service with protection.

For a long time Kate believed, and mainly because of her dreams, that Christopher and Katarina had had only a nightstand in which they conceived Christian, but when she read Katarina's diaries she realized that that nightstand was the only time he had come into her without protection, but sex was something they often had despite Christopher's late regret by saying it was a mistake every time they did it. But with regret or not, he always ended up surrendering to the strong sexual instincts he possessed when he was with Katarina.

"This is Chris's thing when we do it in some public space and especially in his office," Kate said with a laugh, "Some things don't seem to have changed that much..."

Katerina was still laughing at herself when she heard Chris entering the room and noticed his rather serious expression.

"Is everything okay?" She asked

"Yeah" he answered in a short tone

"It doesn't look that way"

"It's nothing about you, forget it" he said taking off his clothes and getting ready to take a shower.

Recalling Katarina's accounts of how she used to deal with Christopher when he turned into the cave man and did not want to talk, Kate followed the Katarina's clues and remained silent without pressing him with questions until he was ready to open up. It was difficult for her to contain the curiosity and concern of what had affected him, but it was necessary to keep the emotional control to avoid unnecessary discussion.

Kate wondered how Katarina was able to control herself so much throughout her life and be so disingenuous, but also began to realize that Katarina was becoming a time bomb or a volcano preparing to erupt.

As Kate continued to read and reflect, Chris reflected during the long cold shower to cool down his hot blood. Piers's words did not leave his head and more and more he felt defied and that he should prove that he wasn't afraid to face the past, and he was determined to prove to himself that he was not afraid at all when he finished the shower and dried himself on the towel, then he returned to the room still naked and lay next to Kate and saw what she was reading.

"What are you reading about?"

"The sexual perils of Christopher and Katarina ... but that doesn't interest you, right?"

"Not at all..." he replied, beginning to kiss her arm

The contact of his beard against her skin and the sucking and nibbling he made on her left nipple caused delicious shivers. And like Christopher and many men, Chris liked to relieve his tensions with exercise, whether through gym or through sex. And she knew very well how to be his sexual academy.

She closed the laptop screen and rose from the bed to keep it on the desk.

After reading so many erotic details about the old couple, she herself was inspired to try some new techniques with her boyfriend who playing himself in bed while staring at her with a voracious desire.

Kate had a naturalistic habit when she was alone, and she liked being completely naked in the house or in the hotel room.

Chris was already used to that habit of her's, and even though he knew every detail of his girlfriend's perfect body, he was still in the phase of strong physical desire for her, and the ease access of her naked body got him frequently horny and the interactions that they had always ended up in sex.

Chris Redfield had never been as sexually satisfied as he is now. Of all the women he had in his life, none had been so passionate as Kate. None had aroused his libido as much as she did. He who had gone through moments of abstinence and even some long abstinence was unaware of that fiery side of himself.

And that satisfaction was evident in his mood. Every day he came in a good mood to work and even kept the good mood all day. He didn't look so grumpy anymore. And sometimes it happened that he did not want to wait until he got home at night, and he took advantage of Kate's free time to "have lunch" together. Surely out of work in some nearby hotel or dangerously in his office during the lunch break once or another.

From the bed, he watched his girlfriend seducing him as she walked towards the bed to start the love making.

(*)

The next morning, Chris and Kate were having breakfast in a cafe at Central Plaza.

"As promised, today I am all and only yours. What are your plans for the day?"

"Hmm, a dangerous question. We could go back to the hotel and get laid all day, if you handle me…"

He laughed, "Sound good!"

She laughed too, "Fool! What I really want to know is what are you up for me tonight. You made me bring the dress you bought for me, but I can only wear it tonight. Why so much mystery?"

"Because today is a very special day, it's your birthday!"

"And where's my present?"

He made a face, "I'm present, isn't that enough?"

"Ahh, so you're my gift?"

"It would be an honor to be considered so…"

"My love, you already know that you are the best thing that ever happened in my life! The honor is mine to have you with me"

He smiled lovingly at her.

At the end of the meal, they continued walking around the plaza, enjoying the cool weather of the day. They took several pictures together and talked about what that place meant for their story. It was at that place that the ice between them actually began to break.

The time passed so fast it looked like it had been the day before that Chris watched in delight Kate dancing in public and then drinking in the famous tavern. They also took several photos that day at the festival, but there was only one that had taken only the two of them sided, and it was on that picture that Kate had made the first public statement even on friendly terms about him. And now back to the same place, they took a photo exactly in the same place now as a couple in love.

But it was right after taking the picture that Chris surprised Kate by proposing to visit Katarina's house.

"What? I think I didn't hear you..." Kate asked back, making a surprised face.

"You did hear me. I was wondering if we could visit the place that you felt sick. I'm still trying to understand what happened to you that day. Got me worried"

"It was just a malaise, I'm already fine"

"I know, but... Did it happen so out of nowhere?"

"Yeah...sometimes things like that can happen…"

"Are you pregnant?"

A loud laugh escaped her, "What? Am I pregnant?"

"Why not? As far as I understood your difficulty is in keeping a pregnancy and not exactly in getting pregnant since you have ovulation..."

"I'd know if I were pregnant!"

"Would you? You're already so used to staying long periods without menstruation that maybe this can deceive you and you may not realize you're pregnant..."

"You really look forward to get me pregnant, don't you?"

He laughed in distress.

"You laugh, so I'm right!"

He continued laughing, "Not quite like that..."

"How not? It's not the first or the second time you talk about me being pregnant..."

"I don't deny it wouldn't be bad to hear you're pregnant with my child. I'm already at an age that an unplanned pregnancy is not much of a bad thing. Besides, I admit is quite sad for me seeing you struggling due to your diagnosis. I love you and your happiness is my happiness, and I'd be very happy seeing fulfilling your dream of becoming a mother, but at the same time there is the concern that this dream would die too soon due to your condition and I'd suffer even more for seeing you suffering for it..."

"So you're afraid of me getting pregnant?"

"I'm afraid of your suffering that would be mine too..of being powerless in not being able to support you"

Kate stayed silent for a moment, reflective. His fear was the same as hers, and for this very reason she preferred to believe that once or another she had a more intense and more painful menstrual flow was due to irregularity and stress and not because of the possibility of miscarriages like she had read it happens without women not knowing it.

She did not want to be frustrated by the certainty of being "rotten" inside. She didn't want to be sure that she did once lose a Piers' child who might have been conceived during the romantic trip they had the previous year. A suspicion that made her regain the habit of using protection in all intercourses with him and anyone else, especially Douglas. Actually, she never had unprotected sex with Douglas or anyone else besides Piers and Chris, so she sure that some period's alterations prior to them was not pregnancy related.

But this habit of safe sex ended with Chris. Mostly due to the frequency and impatience that prevented them from holding their fire because of excessive libido. It was only a short while ago they started using protection for another location.

"This is not gonna happen, but since we have this fear in common, I guess the right thing to do is to use protection all the time from now on"

"Then I'd have to have a condom's factory at home..."

She couldn't bear the joke and laughed out loud, "You're going bankruptcy because of this fear then..."

"Exactly! My whole paycheck is going to be used only fox boxes of condom"

"We can also diminish the frequency too while I still don't help paying the bills…Less sexy, more economy"

"What do you mean? We do not even do it that much..."

"Uhmm!" she nodded holding her laugh of incredulity

"Jokes aside..." he said holding her grip, "what I said about having a child with you is true"

"I'm glad to hear that, but don't you think it's a little too early for this?"

He shrugged, "Time is relative, but of course I want to make the most of our life as a couple, because as Barry says 'life changes after kids and couple's moments diminishes drastically'"

"Barry is very wise man! I'd like to meet him someday, you speak so highly about him"

"You will! He's almost a father to me and to Claire"

"Maybe he used to be your father in another life..."

Chris smiled, "It's not be a bad idea"

She smiled back and hugged him tight, "How can you be so wonderful?"

"You're the wonderful one"

"Yes I am!"

They laughed still hugging each other warmly.

"But I'm wonderful just because of you! At your side I feel like the luckiest and the strongest woman in the world! With you I'm afraid of anything or anyone… besides ghosts!"

He laughed

"You're my dream come true! That's why my biggest fear is losing you..."

"You won't lose me. I'll always come back to you, no matter what!"

"And I will always wait and welcome you with the greatest love in the world! You're my safe harbor…"

"And you're my home..."

They kissed lovingly. A gentle kiss, but full of love and devotion. Not always the burning passion was a necessity.

After the love confessions, they continued the walk, holding hands to Katarina's house. And a déjà vu feeling embraced them when they stood before the gate.

They might not have flashes of memories at that moment, but in their spirits there were records of all the times they had stood before that gate when he used to visit her on several occasions when they were teenagers and he would accompany her home as if he were her bodyguard or the times they passed the gate for sneak encounters when she was home alone.

But the strongest unconscious flash was in Chris's mind about the last time he was there. It was when he'd been there to fetch Katarina back home during the troubled start of their marriage.

It was the first time Katarina had taken a step to separation. A separation he didn't allow, even though he was still very attached to Angelique's ghost.

Something inside him didn't let him let go of Katarina. At the time he didn't understand why, but today the answer is simple: Christian.

Another guard was keeping the house, yet he allowed the couple to enter.

Kate was at Chris side, ecstatic with the beauty of the property and the beautifully manicured gardens. As much as she had strange sensations of lightning memories that came into her mind, most of the time Kate walked as if it was the first time she visited the place. And being at Chris's side gave her an extra boost as Chris was always anti-Katarina.

In a way, Kate felt victorious over the ice of her beloved man being melting. In addition Katarina inside her could smile a little at the progress so far, but she could still kept the same serious expression because of the fears of knowing the shadow side of Chris/Christopher too well.

"Before we get into the house, we could look around..." Chris suggested

"Okay..."

And so they did.

Chris could really confirm Kate's account of the house not seeming to be abandoned because of the excess of maintenance Mr. Lionel seemed to have had with the property. Although he wasn't surprised since he knew Mr. Lionel was very fond of Katarina. But a comparison of the maintenance of properties was inevitable.

They circled the side of the house and at distance they could see a labyrinth garden, and immediately memories were activated in Chris's mind, and the captain recalled a dream he had long ago of a place similar to that, too similar.

If only Chris knew it was not just a dream...

Kate was excited at the sight. She had read about the famous labyrinth garden from Katarina's secret diaries, but she was even more surprised at how well detailed Katarina had describe it, and Kate could see every word described in reality. Undoubtedly, Katarina had a tremendous talent for words.

Out of nowhere, Kate ran toward into the labyrinth bushes.

Chris laughed at the sight of his lover running like a little girl in the playground into the tall bushes. Moved only by a keen intuition, Chris followed her into the labyrinth and within minutes he found her waiting for him with a broad smile.

"You always find me so fast!"

Chris frowned in shock. Kate had repeated the same words as the woman in his dream.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"You frowned... Are you angry that I ran away like this?"

"Of course not... it's nothing about you..."

"So what happened?"

"Forget it Kate... don't worry about it"

"Of course do I worry! I felt..."

She couldn't finish her phrase. Out of sudden, Chris pulled her to him and kissed her passionately.

Once again Katarina's described words came true. That very spot was the only blind spot in the garden, and they were at exact location Katarina and Christopher used to make out, not even her austere father, who always watched her somehow from the top of the windows of the house could see what they did there.

Christopher loved to surprise her with sudden kisses when they were alone during their courtship. It even happened once Katarina did fellatio on him, even taking the risk of being caught, but this was the fun of the play they enjoyed.

They smiled after the kiss. Chris looked up at a window and frowned at the thought of seeing a figure standing the window.

"What again?" she asked, noticing the change in his expression

"A ghost..."

The young brunette felt a chill down her spine, "No! Don't say that!"

"But there was someone at the window... a woman"

Kate frowned between fear and reflection. She remembered that during the strange previous visit, "she" was talking to a woman. Moirai, the mysterious woman.

"Should we go in?" She asked even hesitantly

"Do you still want to get inside even after I said I saw a ghost?" he replied in surprise

"Well, there's something I want to see in there... you say ghosts don't exist... Maybe it was your imagination ..."

"Yeah, maybe..."

Chris remained intrigued. The woman had disappeared as if by magic. She was not so young, but she wasn't old either, but the more intriguing fact was that she looked familiar to him.

* * *

 **Piers' Room**

In the afternoon, Piers was in his room reading Chris's flash drive files when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Good afternoon Mr. Nivans, room service" the beautiful redhead receptionist greeted him jokingly

"Good afternoon Miss Yana, please come in" he replied joking back

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Of course not. You never disturb me" he replied pulling her to him and gave her a kiss

"So what are you doing?" She asked when he released her

"Nothing yet..."

She smiled and blew him a kiss corresponding to his flirtation.

"I thought your shift would be at night today"

"It is, but I had to solve a scheduled thing for tonight that your amazing friend asked for my help" she spoke with sarcasm

"May I know what you had to help him with?"

"Besides having to hide a gift in my personal cabinet since they arrived, I helped him book a special table in the most expensive restaurant in town, as for today is a special day for him and he nagged me about it through phone messages..."

"Today is his girlfriend's birthday..."

"I know, but all that nagging just for a birthday? Or he's very romantic type and doesn't look like it or she's very special kind..."

"You're making me curious about it ..."

"I'm not sure, but I think he's going to ask her to marry him"

"What?!"

"That's right! Because when he arrived, the first thing he asked me was to help him hide a little box that is obviously a ring box, from his girlfriend because he couldn't keep it in the room"

"Marry her? But so fast?" He commented, not taking well the news

"Fast like this?"

"Yeah, it's too fast! There's not even three months that they are dating! And you say he's going to propose her tonight? He's not like that!" He replied with incredulity

Yana noticed the young soldier's negative reaction and remembered that he had already confirmed that he had already had an affair with the "special" brunette.

"Look, I may be wrong..." she tried to ease things

"No, I don't think you're wrong at all... I noticed he was very anxious since yesterday. Back home he had planned a big party for her but he had to cancel it due to the trip... now that you told me that, I start to understand his strange attitudes lately"

"You still like her, don't you?"

"No…"

"Yes you do, no matter how well you disguise it, you don't have to deny that to me, and if you want to vent, I'm here for you…"

He shrugged, "What difference does it make? She's his now... the future Mrs. Redfield..." he said with a tone of debauchery

The redhead preferred to remain silent.

"Anyways, what I really want to know is since when do you have such intimacy with him so he could ask you to hide the ring with you?"

She made a face and looked away in distress, "We already knew each other..."

"From?"

"London…"

"How long?"

"Why all these questions?"

"I'm curious that he trusts you so much... he's not like that…"

"It's not trust... I was his only option to keep the secret from his girlfriend until today"

He laughed, "Oh, I see... I thought it was my imagination the strange looks you had with each other…"

"I think you're still imagining too much..."

"Am I?"

"I think so, and also jealous"

"Not jealous..."

"Right... You don't have to be jealous of me since we have nothing concrete and we're just banging…"

"Don't put it like that, I like you more than just a good bang…But…"

"But?"

"I need you to be honest with me"

"About what?"

"I'll get straight to the point... Did you ever have sex with him?"

She held her breath and cleared her throat and nodded, "It's been a while ago..."

He let out a heavy sigh and laughed, shaking his head to the sides.

"What are you laughing at?"

"My world and his world must be very small for us to have two women that live in different continents in common as far as I know... or three if I count his sister..."

"What? You fucked his sister?"

He laughed in distress and made a silence sign, "It's our secret, huh!"

She made a startled face, "Your world is definitely tiny!"

"Tell me about it!"

"So you and his sister are fucking behind his back?"

"It's not behind his back…we just think he doesn't need to know such details"

"I understand, but I'll start praying for your souls for when he learns about it…He seems to be a jealousy guy"

"Don't be dramatic. Claire is not a little girl anymore, plus it's nothing serious…"

"Does it matter if it's not serious? You're fucking his sister!"

"And he fucked my girls too…"

"Your girls? Do they have a name?" she teased him

"You know who they are…"

"Am I your girl?"

"Aren't you?"

"I don't know…we don't have anything serious either…"

"Still his paws touched you…"

"Ahh, But it was only once... I was too wasted to remember it…"

He laughed

"I think you're more bothered because of the pretty one…" She remained in incredulity

"Kate is past, I'm over it… but you're my present, I still can imagine his paws on you…and I don't like how they look"

She dodged his approach, "And I see his sister's on you…"

"So you can relate to what I feel…"

"I do and I wonder if you slept with his sister to get revenge for him stealing your girlfriend?"

He laughed loudly, "Of course not! It never even crossed my mind. How can you think such a thing?!"

"I've seen a lot of things and especially about couples" she replied with a shrug

"Is that why you'd rather not have serious relationships?"

"Not really. I like my freedom, the absence of emotional blackmail, attention demanding and jealousy..."

"I understand..."

"But then... are you still sleeping with your boss's sister?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really... I don't mind sharing when the rules are clear..." she said in a seductive tone

He smiled, "Did you share him?"

"Does it matter?"

"Is that a yes?"

"You seem very interested in knowing details..."

"I don't want too many details, I'm just discovering a side of you that I didn't know and that aroused a lot of my curiosity, but not about him... but about you!"

"Are you thinking of sharing me?"

"Not with him!"

She laughed out loud, "I would never do that again!"

"You did not like to have sex with him?"

"He's not my type..."

He laughed wryly, "His future wife kept saying that ..."

"For repetitions... I've already had my share of him..." she replied, complementing the phrase in a seductive voice, running her hand over his abdomen, lifting his shirt, "I prefer you... over and over..." she whispered in his ear moving down her hand to his groin

"That's why I like you and don't want to share you with anyone..." he replied before kissing her ardently

"Not even with another girl?" She asked sassily, breaking the kiss

He gasped, "You're pushing me too much..."

"Is that a no?"

He shrugged, "Not being the same girl you shared him..."

She made a face, "Oh come on don't be an ass! A fourth girl in common with him makes no difference..."

"For me it does!"

"Eva is cool. Fun, beautiful! Flexy!"

He frowned thoughtfully, "Eva... Evana? A blonde one?"

"Yes. Do you know her?"

"Not personally…"

"Yet…" She teased again

He laughed without knowing for certain if he would jump in on that adventure, then kissed her ending the subject.

Piers and Yana had an emotionally intense but free relationship. Ever since they met, they felt a powerful instantaneous and unexplained attraction, at least not to him, but for her there was an explanation. Like the other inhabitants, she had unconventional beliefs and believed in some dreams revelations about her relation with that group of Americans.

In a distant past, Yana and Piers had been a couple who belonged to a nomadic group and had been married for many years and had several children. They had a happy union at that time.

But in the 17/18th century, Yana was Tatyana, a Russian dancer who worked in that same hotel where in the past it had been a Gentleman's Club.

Tatyana had a cousin, Evana, who worked at the same location as a dancer and singer.

Both were immigrants from Russia and despite the formal work as artists, they also accepted some extra offers from noble clients, but there were 2 special clients: the young Christopher and Pierce.

Though they had slept with the two knights, each one had their favorite one. Evana preferred Christopher, Tatyana preferred Pierce and for many years they had an affair that only ended when he and Katarina began dating after Christopher's alleged death.

At the same time, Tatyana had a bastard son of Pierce and hid him for a few years.

Even though she had no preference for Christopher, Tatyana didn't reject him and became one of his main mistresses during his early marriage to Katarina alongside her cousin and his favorite, Evana.

Now in the 21st century, Yana didn't want to repeat the same habits of the old century and despite the only relapse a few years back then, she made sure to keep distance from Chris, especially when she met him again the first time he came to Bohma. She didn't recognize him right away and he seemed to not had recognized her right away either, although when they realized who they were, naturally they continued playing not knowing each other, especially in this second visit as she didn't want trouble with Kate and noticed Kate's stares at her, then during a dream she recognized Kate as being Katarina and realized Kate's unconscious stares at her.

She recalled very well the dream she had about Katarina and Tatyana's encounter.

 **Flashback**

Christopher and Tatyana were having sex at one of the rooms of the Gentleman's Club when they noticed they were being watched by a figure at the doorway and immediately stopped.

"Katarina!" Christopher spoke in shock

"Do not stop! Finish what you are doing." she replied and then turned to the woman on the bed, "He is awesome and he feels delicious inside, does not it?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he said removing himself from the redhead's folds

"Watching you fuck. Is not it obvious? Oh, I am glad to see you wear protection with her, it is already enough Pierce having a child with the whore you are fucking…"

"Get the hell out of here!" he ordered her

"I will not! I want to see and learn from the professional what she has that is so unique that captivates my husband to fuck her every day. She must have something I do not. She must do something I do not. As a dedicated wife I want to learn how to please my husband, so continue from where you left off"

"As an obedient wife, get the hell out of here!" he spoke walking towards her and grabbed her by the arm, and tried to open the door which was locked

"I will not!" she shouted releasing her arm from his hand

"Katarina open this damn door" he tried to grab her again but she dodged him and ran towards the scared woman covering her body on the bed and pulled the sheets abruptly exposing the naked body of the redhead's

"Fuck that damn whore!" she yelled

"Katarina…"

"Why are you covering yourself bitch? No room to be shamed! All you have I do too, and there is nothing he had not seen! Show me what you got that keeps him so interested!" she spoke gritting her teeth and pulling harshly the woman by the hair

"Katarina let go of her"

"Spread your legs bitch and stop crying. You are paid to please not to cry"

"Please…" the redhead whispered

"Please what? I hope you are not begging me to fuck you"

Christopher managed to grab hold of Katarina and she started crying. He demanded Katarina to give him the keys but she refused it.

Tatyana paralyzed the very first moment she saw Katarina's furious gaze behind the initial cold manner.

Everyone in town knew about Katarina's and Christopher's catastrophic union. Everyone knew who Katarina was and who she used to be. Even herself did.

The fury in the once joyful noblewoman confirmed a disrupted woman.

Everyone knew about her immense love for Christopher.

As she watched the struggling couple and the desperate crying betrayed wife affected her deeply. As a woman she could understand the noblewoman's pain. She also had that feeling deep inside for a lost love, but she had accepted her non-deserving to be loved.

But Katarina still struggled to be noticed, to be loved, however for how long? She surely was a strong woman but already seemed close to the edge.

After that day, Tatyana decided to stop seeing Christopher. She knew there would be other hookers he could get to continue destroying his wife and family, his fame…but at least she would have the peace of mind of not be the one who helped tearing Katarina O'Gregon apart.

Later, she heard the rumors that Katarina had left home…

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

The interior of Katarina's house was definitely very similar to a house he had dreamed of a few times throughout his life. The pictures of the O'Gregon family hung on the walls, the furnishing and the sumptuous decoration. All in perfect condition. But what most caught the attention of the captain of the BSAA was the stairs. The central stairway leading to the west side and to the east side.

Kate headed for the east side, the same side he had dreamed of repeatedly.

 **Flashback**

"Where is she?"

"She's locked in her bedchambers"

A young man was hurrying up the stairs after questioning one of the maids at the location.

At the top of the stairs, he came across a young blonde woman who was looking at him nervously, "Eliza, give me the keys to her chambers"

"Please don't fight with her anymore..."

"She's the one who provokes this situation! Who does she think she is by leaving home like that and abandoning her daughter who is still a baby?"

"Maddy is fine and she's under my care! Kat isn't..."

"You are the aunt, not the mother! Katarina shall stop being irresponsible! She is a mother and a married woman now! And married to me! We have responsibilities as a couple and she is missing all of them! Open the door or give me the keys!"

"If you came to fight with her, then I won't give you the keys nor open the door… I'm sorry…"

"Then I put that shit down!" He replied angrily

When he came across the large double doors and shouted, "Katarina, open that door!"

No response.

"Katarina, I'm tired of your stupid game. I know you're in there, open the damn door or I'll put it down now!"

"What the hell is going on here? What shouting is this?" A middle-aged woman, mother of the O'Gregon sisters, asked coming across the other corridor.

"I came to get Katarina"

"Like this? By making threats?" The woman replied

"I'm tired of having patience with this whole staging of your daughter, she's my wife and it's with me and her daughter she has to live with!"

"Your wife? Your marriage was not even consummated"

"It was consummated a long time ago! And that's why she got pregnant!" He replied referring more to Christian's pregnancy, because he had already noticed that Maddy was not his daughter

"You treat her badly! You made her get like this! If she suffers, it's your fault!"

"My fault? If she suffers, it's because of her own fault, because of her lies!"

"Then separate, a marriage without consummation has no validity! Leave my daughter alone! You only hurt her and that's why her late father and I were so opposed to your marriage! We knew you were not good. You're a vulgar plebeian!"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me, get out of here!" He shouted loudly, controlling himself so he would not lose control anymore and end up doing something he would regret, and then turned to the door," Katarina, open the damn door now! It's your last chance before I break it!"

"Get out of my house!" Mrs. O'Gregon shouted

"I won't! You get the hell out of my house! By marriage, this is my house now! I am a man and the law favors me!"

"Christopher, you're an asshole, you're idiot, you're very far from being a man!"

The man raised his trembling hand. He wriggled his fingers in order not to proceed with the aggressive act.

Elizabeth opened her eyes as she snapped at the thought that Christopher was going to hit her mother. He was out of himself. And again the young blonde tried to intercede for her sister.

"Chris... Look at you... you're not like that..."

"Your sister made me get like this!"

"For your own fault! Everyone knows you cheat her publicly! You say you're a family man, but you prefer the sluts!"

He laughed scornfully, "That's why I'm here, I've come after the slut!"

Paafff

The noise echoed the hallway.

Mrs. O'Gregon could feel the burning in the palm of her right hand after striking her son-in-law's face, "Never talk like that to a mother! Do not ever curse the child to a mother! Katarina is still my daughter! I have endured for many years an unfaithful and aggressive husband for the well being and for the sake of my daughters, for as you yourself have said, the law favors men. But my Katarina doesn't have to live the same shit as I did and if you even have some decency like she used to say, then get out of my house and come back when you're calmer and when you can talk decently to my daughter! But if you cannot stop being that monster, give her the divorce!"

Christopher could feel the burning on his left cheek, but felt an ardor that stung him deep in his chest and made it ache. A pain that reminded him that he was not that monster, "I won't divorce her, she set me up and now she has to keep the guts to handle me to the end!"

"Then act like the noble man she believes exists in you. Do you want to talk to her? So recompose yourself as a nobleman and talk decently! The two of you made mistakes, there's no need to keep arguing! Stop pointing out who made more mistakes, you're even! But if you refuse to end the bitterness and intend to use the marriage to punish her, I tell you that you will be making the biggest mistake of your life and you will be creating the monster you will regret to have known!"

 **End of Flashback**

Kate opened the door slowly. Chris felt a slight headache being at that place. A chill breeze ran through their skin, but they realized it was just wind blowing from an open window. And again Chris had a déjà vu.

 **Flashback**

A few days have passed since the discussion with Katarina's mother. Their separation was the city's biggest gossip/scandal.

Christopher was increasingly affected by the murmurs about his personal life. And when he was home he felt the weight of loneliness and worry.

It was not for things to be like this. This was not how he imagined it to be. In fact, he no longer knew what he had thought by proposing a marriage of appearance to Katarina.

Katarina! The girl who was never able to hide her feelings for him.  
The girl who had the courage to face the traditions of family and society to stay with him.  
The girl who always dreamed of being his.

They had already gone through so many things and she seemed to have an endless joy that delighted him and made him feel well next to her even when he was confused. Reluctant.

How could he believe that proposing to Katarina a marriage without touch, without intimacy… They who had already been so intimate so many times?

How could he believe that Katarina would be able to live without love?

How could he believe Katarina would be able to share him with another woman? She who always dreamed of being the only one? She who tried to take revenge on him by allowing another man to touch her just to make him jealous and make him feel the same uneasiness that she felt when she learned that other women had slept with him?

She who made him feel the same pain of jealousy and betrayal after impregnating by another man and lie that Maddy was his child.

He needed to find out who was the other man was after having his Katarina in his arms and planted a seed in his garden!

He could understand her relationship with Pierce, but he could not understand how anyone else had been able to make her surrender.

Was it a rape? Would it have been consensual? He needed to know what the other man had! Not to give Maddy back to her biological father, that was out of question! He liked Maddy too much to do that. Maddy filled a space of pain that Christian had left. Christian was irreplaceable, but Maddy was his little princess.

The silent, lonely house reminded him of how much he missed Katarina's contagious joy. Her beautiful voice when she sang, or the good energy he felt when she danced. It was that side of hers that he missed truly.

But his proposal destroyed what he liked the most about her. And the daughter with the traces of another's made the rainbow of her being turn into grey ashes for being a constant reminder of the part of another man she did not love.

Maddy was the memory of non-love. It was the fruit of non-love.

All that one day he dreamed of either with Katarina or with Angelique had been destroyed. He lost both. But maybe with Katarina there was still a chance that he could feel life again.

Calmer, he returned to O'Gregon's manor. Lucy opened the door to Katarina's bedchambers and left them alone.

Katarina was lying on the bed, unmade, disheveled, extremely thin. She looked like a living dead. The perfect features that gave her the vigor of beauty were trying bravely to resist amidst the bones of the jaw and shoulders were more evident.

Seeing Katarina so destroyed, almost dead, made him suffer deeply. He was killing the gypsy girl with his indifference.

The antithesis of love is not hatred but indifference.

He walked slowly to her bed and sat down.

Her eyes were so deep.

He knew that Katarina no longer wanted to eat. Much less live, especially after hearing his fight with her mother. Since then she had stopped eating completely and forcibly drank some water so she would not be completely dehydrated.

"Kat..." he whispered.

"Did you come to say goodbye?" She said with a weak voice

"No... I came to take you home..."

"Here is my home"

"No more... Your home is where your husband and our daughter are"

"What husband? I do not have a husband..."

"You will... if you come home you'll have a husband. A present and dedicated husband who will never let anything go missing for you"

"Faithful?"

"Yes. I will no longer meet the sluts"

"DO you promise?"

"I promise!"

"But…of all the things you said you will give me, I just want the one you didn't say… your love"

"We will work on this together. We will build our unique love, but as long as you stop fighting with Angelique"

"Do you still see yourself in the position of demanding something?"

"Of course, we both made mistakes, but I'm willing to build something of ours from here onwards as long as Angelique remains untouchable and I'll remain silent about Maddy"

"Are you remaining silent about Maddy? I have been a lot more silent than you in all these years"

"Maybe it's true, but at least my secrets never hurt each other, or anyone. I can't say the same about yours..."

Even weak, she gasped. Proud. Damaged pride. The damage was already done. Angelique was not an untouchable ghost, but a relentless shadow between Christopher and Katarina's happiness.

Katarina returned home, but not to safe harbor.

As the years proved it…

 **End of Flashback**

Chris and Kate stared at the room in silence. There was a lot of history in that place. Many memories that only their spirits had full access.

In that room many erotic adventures took place between Christopher and Katarina during courtship whenever Katarina was alone at home when her parents had to travel together.

There were many good memories in that place, it was a place that seemed to hold the energy of hope for a promising future. Katarina's contagious joy still seemed to exist even if faintly, after all, there was her safe harbor throughout her maiden life. She just left it when she married Christopher.

That spot almost became her final bed when they separated for the first time. But Christopher refused to let her go.

The hope of a promising marriage began there, even the time proving that the personal differences they had and the strong geniuses were stronger that became reasons for the great marriage failure.

Kate looked at the wardrobe and next to it, on the floor, there was the trunk that Katarina took everywhere. A trunk that always made Christopher complain about the uselessness of taking it to all the places they lived. But Katarina was reluctant to let go of that object and of the sentimental appreciation contained in there.

"So it's really here..." Kate commented.

Chris looked at the object and unconsciously frowned, "Was that the reason why you came here even knowing there's a ghost in the house?"

"Yes…"

He rolled his eyes.

"I needed to make sure the dream was really weird..."

"As in?"

"Are you willing to listen to me without judging me?"

He nodded, "Say it"

"I saw this trunk the day I got sick, but I thought it wouldn't be here since Katarina took it wherever she went, including the prison she was allowed to keep it with her. Then she took it to the barn at Lake House. So I thought it'd be there because there was the last place she stayed. It doesn't make sense Mr. Lionel to have kept some things there, but to have brought this trunk here..."

Chris shrugged. He also had no answer to her questioning.

"And if the dream is stranger still, if I open it... there will be personal objects of all Katarina's children. There will have 8 sectioned parts and in each space there will have the name in the order of birth of each child"

"8? I thought she had seven children..."

"Yeah, you're right, but as I read her diaries, I found out that she got pregnant other times during her marriage to Christopher, but ended up in miscarriages. Then because of the miscarriages she created a method and the 8th space would be of the child that passed the 5th month of gestation, that's why Christian has a space in it..."

"Ah, I see... that makes sense..."

"Yeah..."

"So will you open it?"

"Should I?"

"You came for that, didn't you?"

"I don't know, I'm scared..."

"Scared of what?"

"Of confirming I'm getting crazy... and that the memories I have are not just dreams... Not to mention that the window was not open when I came here the other time... it does not make sense it's open now"

"Maybe the guard opened to refresh the place..."

"I don't know..." she gave a shrug

"It's the only rational explanation, Kate!"

"And what is your rational explanation for the 6 lights I saw?"

"In the dream?"

"Yes"

Chris made a face without knowing the answer.

"Katarina had 7 children, but there were only 6 lights"

"You can't be sure the lights were the children!"

"Yes I can. The lights took on the forms of when they were children, except Christian who remained as a light"

He made a face, "And which one didn't come to the party?"

Kate bit her lip with sorrow in her eyes, "Henry..."

Chris frowned with a serious expression and sighed deeply. Unconsciously, he put his hands on his waist.

"Henry did not forgive me..."

"What?"

"I meant he did not forgive her..."

"Maybe if we take in account Mr. Lionel's crazy theory, he might be born again and that's why he didn't show up..."

"You have a point... You may be right... but why did not he say anything about it?"

Suddenly a cold breeze passed through them and Chris took the action of closing the window.

"Final Letter..."

He heard a female voice whisper close to his ear. He looked sideways, but saw no one.

"We'd better go. This trunk is not important anymore" he said hastily

Kate nodded in agreement. She took one last glimpse at it. There would still be time to open it when she had enough courage to make sure the memories were not from a dream, but real.

* * *

 **Thank you McTamale** **for the review! :D**

 **Well, I know the chapter is huge and the next ones will be too because BT is finally ending very soon, however not Chris and Kate's story xD**

 **Beyond Time's essence plot was to show things feelings and events that live on across the time, throught lives. The karma or situations of life that we may not understand why we go through it. Yet, there's no absolute rule that specifies each issue we deal with. What happens to the characters in this story is just an example of the causes of their current issues.**

 **But the next level of BT's saga will have another essence and will be more focused on the results of the now, it doesn't mean there won't be any important mention about the past, but the present, the fresh now is what matters on the next level of their story and they will live the reflection of the past and that's why the next level will be called Mirror of Time.**

 **I'm thankful for everyone who is reading my work and specially the ones that are on my boat since old works.**

 **Thank you everyone for your attention and support! :D**

 **This is not the end yet, so...**

 **Stay Tuned!**


	71. Feud

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

 **A/N: This chapter has connection with chapter 15.**

* * *

 **Bohma, Lake House**

There had been a few weeks since Chris and Angelina had talked and his silence and never replying to her attempts to contact him only made her moody. The young painter was certainly not in the best phase of her life, especially with George.

There had some time since the couple had slept in the same room. They had a friendly relationship with their daughter Olivia, but behind the scenes the overall atmosphere wasn't so friendly.

Over time George got more bothered by friendship between Angelina and the captain of the BSAA. Angelina smiled a lot when she talked to him, and her mood seemed more and more dependent on the contact with the savior of her life.

At first, George understood her admiration for the military guy, but over time he struggled with the thought that that admiration was indication of something else.

Angelina's detachment was progressive. The frequency they made love was diminishing under allegations that she had to work or that she could not lose the immediate inspiration for the paintings. Her routine no longer fit into his, as for during the day he worked and she stayed at home or wherever she wanted until she began to switch the day and night.

The few moments as a couple diminished quickly and the only thing that seemed to make them interact was their daughter and Maggy's insistence that they should continue working on their relationship.

George was very fond of Maggy and saw her as a mother, but he was already on the edge with her insistence on keeping them together through marriage.

Until one day, Angelina changed completely. She was no longer the sweet, dreamy girl he fell in love with. She was silent, distant, and almost untouchable. She barely kissed him back. She was always thinking of something and usually locked in the office, or when she wanted space, she used to go out alone or with her friends.

He no longer seemed to be a companion option.

Patient Angelina grew more and more grumpy, and after Mr. Lionel's death things had affected her even more.

George tried not to judge her, nor to press her with questions to try to understand her, since she usually responded in an irritated way.

George was more and more aware that no matter how understanding and patient he tried to be, it would be useless. He was losing Angelina like sand grains in the palm of his hand. He was losing Angelina to the parallel world that she submerged more and more.

But George was a determined man and would not give up so easily. Growing mistrust tormented him. Was it all the fault of that BSAA captain? Could it be Mr. Lionel's fables?

And he did investigate it.

He waited for Angelina to lower her guard and took advantage of being alone at home while Maggy was walking around with her granddaughter.

He went into the redhead's office and flipped through all the paperwork there, especially a pink diary. The diary that Angelina always kept with her and locked with a key and padlock that only she had.

He should know...

It was not just suspicion. Angelina really was in love with the captain and on the pages she ventured on the anguish of having a good partner and the desire to live a forbidden adventure.

She talked about the inner struggle between following Mr. Lionel's advice and living up to her own desires.

In the diary, Angelina confessed she had never forgotten the feel of Chris's lips close to hers and the warmth she felt in his arms the last time they met.

Her torture grew ever larger when Chris started dating Katerina.

Angelina raved about the pain of not being able to touch him like Katerina did. She raved of not being able to hug him like Katerina did. She raved of not being able to feel him as Katerina did.

Kate, Kate, Kate.

Everything seemed to mention the brunette's name.

Angelina raged in silence as Katerina did not deserve Chris.

Angelina mocked in silence that Katerina could not have children.

Angelina cursed silently so Katerina and Chris would not work together.

Angelina was resolute in believing that she would only have to snap her fingers to end Katerina's illusory happiness.

Angelina was certain she would just have to say yes to make Chris stay with her.

George could not believe what he read. He did not know that woman. How could Angelina be so toxic and disguised to have an angel face, an angelic name, but to be so evil inside?

It was after reading the pink diary that George made a decision and decided to give the freedom Angelina craved so much and left her to her own luck but without Olivia.

The two made an agreement and since then Angelina had returned to a more normal state and less careless with her obligations as a mother.

* * *

 **Central Plaza**

The day dawned beautiful and colorful. The birds seemed to smile at Katerina. The sun seemed to illuminate the deep being of her soul, or was it the opposite and was she shining for the sun? She greeted everyone she saw passing by and always caught up herself admiring the beautiful diamond engagement ring Chris had given to her the night before.

And what a night! What a night in every sense of the word!

She had never felt so much love, nor had she given so much love as she did last night. She even thought she had given all the love she felt, but no. Her future husband proved to her that she was capable of feeling and giving much more love than she had ever done before!

And so did he...

She smiled alone often. She should have realized he was up to something! But of course she had noticed that he was making too much suspense, but how could she have missed he was planning something on the great Redfield's style?

How could he hide that precious object from her? How could he keep silent without giving any clue to marriage? How could he keep such a secret? How come?

Only now after the revelation she did realize all the pieces of the puzzle and the questions she answered over the weeks from different people. Lucy, Kate and even Greta!

Chris, the slow Chris! That Chris had planned everything right beneath her nose! He had planned the wedding and the honeymoon without her noticing it! And now she would have a month, only a month to organize everything! Of course she would have to deal with the pressure of the race against the clock! Of course! After all, Chris was still the impulsive guy! If he wanted something it would have to be for yesterday!

A month to make the wedding dress, only a month! And it was obvious she would not rent the most special dress of her life, of course not! Katerina could give up many sumptuous things, but not the glamour of her wedding dress! Even more for being the marriage with the love of her life! It was out of the question to rent it and more than ever that trip seemed to become a major obstacle in her plans, in her life! Of course! Of course things could not be easy for her, ever! She would have a month and during a trip to organize the Redfield's wedding party!

The challenge of the 24's was just beginning for the future Mrs. Redfield!

But before she started working on it while he worked on the investigation with Piers, she still had plenty of time to post the photo of the beautiful ring in her profile so the gossipers could have something to talk about.

But for her surprise, Chris was one step forward again and made a beautiful virtual statement by posting 3 photos that summarized their trajectory: the first photo taken on the night of the festival, the photo recreated in the same place now as a couple, and the photo of the Diamond ring:

"The first thing that crosses my head right now is that: she said yes!

I'm still coping with everything that's bubbling up inside me. Lol, I can't even describe what I'm feeling. It's too much!

I only know that at 37, more exactly at age 38 I feel that my life is finally starting! Damn sure is scary! But at the age of 38 I feel mature and ready enough to experience this spectacle and next to the "glitter" of my life, Katerina Redfield, yes, I already see her as Mrs. Redfield.

1 month goes by fast.

Love, I'm so grateful to have you with me and thank you for making me so, but so happy! Your glitter illuminates me. Your beauty enchants me. Your love dominates me. I love you!

They say that behind great men there is a great woman, but I just feel now like a great man for having a great woman that is you with me!

PS: Look what you made me do ... I wrote a love declaration! Feels like almost a poet! Lol.

I'm not me when I'm with you, that's for sure!

You make me overflow, my sweet gypsy girl"

She was dead reading that! Kate could not keep her emotions and squeezed her hands on her cell phone almost breaking it and almost letting out the cry of emotion as she read every word written. She shivered from the strands of her hair to toes with the declaration of "the rock's"!

People passed by her and smiled at the sight of the silly smile on her face, or when she kept repeating that he loved her like a teenager in love.

In the midst of the shadows she tried to respond to his dedication:

"My love, my life, my everything... I'm beyond that and absolutely speechless! Me…Who am known for always having words for everything, now that I need them, they all escape me. This is your power, you turn me inside out and reveal the best of me! For you I will always say yes!

I'm privileged to have your love for me, only for me, because mine was always yours before we were even born!

You're to me the sun that lights what I am and reborn all in me. Now I know very well that I was born just to be your partner, your good and pleasure. Nothing is by chance and we were well marked on tarot cards.

My love, this love is thus a sign of destiny. What a surprise it prepared for us.

My love, our love was written in the stars. Yes, it was!

You gave me attention and took care of me. So my intention is to continue always like this, because without you, I don't know what I'm going to be.

But believe me

I know I will love you.

For all my life I will to love you

In every farewell I will love you

Desperately, I know I will love you.

And every verse of mine will be

To tell you that I know I will love you.

For all my life

I know I will cry

In every absence of yours I will cry

But in every return of yours will clear

All harm your absence have done to me

I know I will love you

For all my life I will love you

And nothing and no one will separate us!"

She let out a long sigh after answering his dedication. Still uneasy and ecstatic, she rose from the bench and walked with no destination and just admiring the beautiful landscape of that picturesque town and to start the research on her wedding dress style.

* * *

 **Lake House**

"This place is no longer the same without you Mr. Lionel... But I hope that from wherever you are you can hear me and forgive me for not having fulfilled my promise completely.

It's not easy. The Angelique in me still suffers the pain of disillusionment. The Angelique in me cannot forgive Katarina and I'm like Angeline because we are so far away from having any sense of sisterhood for our greatest rival in love. So many centuries later we are still in the same dispute and I am afraid that this will never end.

But when you were here I felt stronger and determined to put an end to this long cycle, but I think I was wrong...

I'm not ashamed to admit that I cannot forgive myself for not kissing him back... for not trying to be the first to get him... and again I'm the runner-up.

Maybe if I had surrendered that day and even if destiny would separate us, for I am aware that something would eventually unite them... but if I had allowed myself to be the first, perhaps I was not suffering so much now for what I didn't do...

She kisses him whenever she wants. She sleeps with him every night. She lives with him...

And I only wanted once... I only wanted him once... That's why I do the wrong thing, but I admit that I'm wrong to wish them to fight or separate for even one day, and that on that day I'll be there with him and can... have this wish fulfilled.

It's only once... she won't stop loving him because of a nightstand. In fact, she doesn't even need to know about it...

I know he likes me deep inside. I know we both live in his heart. I know it's hard for him to choose just one...

But I only ask for one day... the rest of the days he will be hers...

That's why it was easier for Angelique to give up on Christopher... She was able to live what I can't. She took the chance I did not. And she got a part of him until her last days.

Things should not be like this... but since they are... I ask for the strength to endure this desire that consumes me."

Angelina was talking to the lake alone. The day was beautiful, but to her it was gray as the approaching winter.

She breathed deeply as she tried to comfort her bitter heart.

The cold breeze of the station and the humidity of the place passed in the skin of the redhead. The wind moved the calm waters and small waves broke at the lakeshore of the lake.

For long minutes she waited for an answer that did not come.

Tired of waiting, she took a long sigh before turning around.

She put her hands in her trouser pockets and heard loud snaps coming from the barn wood.

She looked suspiciously at it.

The snaps stopped and she continued down the path to the property entrance.

She let out a heavy sigh, from far away she had noticed the silhouette of the girl wearing black leggings and a red top and sneakers at the gate.

Again more snaps. Angelina looked at the barn and then at the rival still far away, "So that reacts to her energy... anyways, that was not the answer I wanted!"

The meeting between the two was inevitable. Angelina took a deep breath and paused right in front of Katerina.

Kate rolled her eyes, "Nothing can be perfect... There's always some shit to ruin the day" she murmured

"I agree"

Kate tried the pass by her.

"You can't enter"

"What?"

"You no longer have permission to get in this land"

"And who do you think you are to tell me where I can or can't get in? This is a public park!"

"I am the future owner of this place! It won't be a public park anymore and you are forbidden to get inside!"

"Oh, future... it's not in your name yet so you don't own it. Get out of my way! You are not and will never be someone who will tell me what I can or cannot do!" Kate forced her passage

Angelina gripped Katerina's arm firmly, which made the brunette stare at her with contempt.

"Let go of me!" Kate ordered after looking at her arm

"Get out of my house! Learn to respect others' space and stay in yours!"

"Force me!" Kate hit her foot firmly on the ground and stared at the redhead

The two faced each other without blinking. Angelina was no longer holding Katerina's arm, but the two remained motionless exchanging angry glances.

A strong icy breeze stirred the redhead and the brunette's hairs of the eternal rivals. They were still. None of them would bend.

Kate started to laugh.

"What are you laughing at? What's so funny"

"Of you, bitch!"

"Me, why? The only bitch here is you! "

"Am I?"

"Yeah, or would you rather be called a whore?"

Kate laughed scornfully, "I'm the whore you want to be!"

"I would be disgusted with myself if I were you!"

"But you want what's mine!"

"Your? What is yours?"

"My husband!"

Angelina smirked, "Your husband? You're just the bitch he's banging! Soon, he'll get sick of you!"

"Oh so in the meanwhile you're only dreaming about having what's mine, you know, it even gives me pity when I read your stupid messages to him saying how much you missed him, begging for his reply… You were so about to scream I want to give my pussy to you!"

"What?"

"Seriously, what a lame! It was touching to see how much you looked like a worm crawling for his attention."

"And you're so insecure that you need to track him... so typical of suckers like you. You pose as the super secure one but you're a great shit!"

"Shit is you who's trying to seduce my husband!"

"Shut up, he's not your husband and he will never be!"

"You'll never separate us, never again!"

"Haha, that's where you fool yourself, my dear! You should thank me for the chance I gave you to give it to him, so enjoy it while you can because all I need is a snapping of fingers and he will run back to me"

"Thank you? You're insane! If he really wanted you, he'd never have chosen me... my husband! Look, my husband!" Kate almost rubbed the engagement ring on Angelina's face

Angelina was furious inside, but tried to control herself and did not pull the ring and even the rival's finger off, "You think you won, but you didn't win anything. I will always be the shadow that lives between you both, because deep down it is me that he longs for. He will never be completely yours, but unlike you I don't care if he fucks you every day, if you will get his last name, whores also get married! But it's me he has always wanted since we met, I never had to sell myself or make me poor victim to get his attention and it was he who freely and spontaneously came to me and held me in his arms as if I were his world and then kissed me... And I have the absolute certainty that you never crossed his mind while he was with me, can you say the same? As far as I know he has imposed the rule that you never come between us and so you act behind his back and erased my messages... I should have suspected that it was not him who was not talking to me, it was you who had intruded as usual and made him think that it was me who stopped talking to him..."

Kate was shaking, her throat was dry, but she did not want to fall on the enemy's provocation, "Look, you really have a very fertile imagination... worthy of an artist, I must admit you have the talent for it!"

"I know you're dying inside with every word I said, for they are true. It is not imagination. You can ask him ... If he really is this honored and sincere man, he will admit that he kissed me and that I suggested him to give you a chance since I already had my own family…"

"I don't believe you. This is loser's shit talk"

"You have every right not to believe... but I'm telling you the truth..."

"And you want what, a prize for the great sincerity? Clapclap, congratulations, bitch!"

"Bark louder"

"Loser... you had to accept an average guy as a consolation prize... because the one you want is completely in love with me"

"For now, but one day your mask will fall and he will see who you really are..."

Katerina put her hands on her waist walking and smirked, "You think you're so superior, so sincere, so honest, so full of virtues and qualities, so immaculate, so good at everything... such a good wife that cheated on the husband and still uses your own brat to get the attention of another's"

"Don't put my daughter in the story!"

"I'm telling the truth bitch! You use the little brat to make him remember how full of eggs you have just waiting for his little soldiers, so you use her subtly reach me, you envious slut!"

"I feel sorry for Christopher thinking that he loves you and believing that you really love him! You can't love!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

"I won't! I've done it too much!"

"Ahh, you're revealing yourself. You never tricked me! Hypocrite!"

"You're hypocrite and liar! Besides, you're rotten! You have this cute little face, but the truth is that you are rotten, dry, hollow, empty and useless inside and that's why no life is generated in you, because you are rotten inside! Defective!"

Paafff

The loud sound echoed throughout the place and it made more people stop by to watch the two of them. The redness was evident on the fair skin of the redhead.

The beautiful redhead covered her face as the beautiful brunette gasped as they both stared each other.

For a while everything seemed to have been solved with that slap.

The slap with centuries of resentment and anger. The slap with the deepest pain of a soul, a soul obscured by the pain of betrayal. The pain of broken trust. The pain of a sister's betrayal.

That slap passed beyond time and invoked a very distant time, but still so close within the space-time of the soul.

The warning slap. The slap of rebuke. The slap of shame. The slap of a mourning mother. The slap of a mother separated from her children. The slap of a woman separated from the great love. The slap of the loss of the innocence. The slap of the loss of dreams.

The slap of life's correction.

The silence after the echo ruminated the anger, the resentment they had accumulated for the other for centuries. The look of hatred and mutual disdain joined the emerald eyes to the sapphire pools.

That dispute was far from being over.

Angelina felt her throbbing cheek. But it was not just her cheek that hurt, no. Her embarrassment hurt more. She admitted that she had gone too far.

"I knew that deep down you laughed at me..."

"I'm sorry..." she said sheepishly, staring at the floor.

"There's no apologize! There is no forgiveness for what you did, for what you said! I always knew that you are not that little angel that everyone think you are. If I'm 'rotten' inside, you're trash, a despicable sewage being! In fact, you're not even a person! You are a tramp, a traitor, an envious bitch, and the true villain of the history!"

"You provoked me... you insulted my daughter..."

"Shut up! I'm still talking! I'm telling the truth veiled that there was always in you, damn bitch! You always competed with me! You always wanted my place! You created this dull and stupid character just to fool my Chris and become a victim so that others would see me as the only villain! But your mask fell and before me! And here in front of all who are watching us! You're a fake puritan Angelique... Angelina! You are the real evil that has fallen upon Bohma! You never deceived me. You're a curse, Angelique! Angeline, Angelina, whatever your damn name is! You are the curse of a nation! It was you who brought the chaos with that stupid, sneaky, pure girl way... you really are pure, pure evil! You swear love, but brings hate! You swear peace, but brings discord!"

"And you celebrate life, but bring death!"

"Because of you I lost my children!"

"You deserved all that you got Katarina... Katerina, everything and more! I don't pity you!"

"Bitch, I'll never forgive you, ever!"

"Me neither!"

Simultaneously, the two of them grabbed each other initially with shoves, clawing at their arms, pulling at their hair. Cat fight. But soon they began to slap each other. Punches. They kicked one another. Both had equal strengths. They both rolled to the floor. Sometimes Angelina had the upper hand. Sometimes Katerina did.

The population watched the fight closely. Some horrified. Others stunned. Few tried to make the fight cease and separate the eternal rivals, but in vain.

From an ally, two special beings watched them attentively. An old man and a middle-aged woman.

* * *

Chris and Piers were in a cafe when they noticed the commotion of a crowd of people near the entrance that gave access to Lake House.

From afar they could hear screams and curses, and immediately ran to check on the situation.

"What the fuck is going on here!" Chris said horrified after recognizing from afar the protagonists of the fight

Angelina was at an advantage and was over Katerina chewing on the brunette's face that was as red as hers.

But Katerina did not give up and remembered the self-defense classes she had with Chris and at the BSAA. Letting out all the pain of betrayal dating to the 14th century plus the pain of Christopher's betrayals and the ghost of the redhead presence among them, and Angelina's cynicism exploded all the internal limits of control she could have and managed to roll over Angelina and even feeling the deep scratches in her arms trying to get rid of the imposing rival, she held the redhead by the neck pressing it hard.

Since the beginning of all their conversation, the beautiful weather already gave signs of change and became increasingly cloudy. It seemed like it could rain at any moment.

A sudden gust of wind spread plastic boxes of a hawk that flew directly and hit the two figthers. The speed and the hard impact on Kate's made her release Angelina's throat.

It was at that moment that Chris and Piers caught up with the girls and quickly separated them, and yet they both tried to kick themselves at distance.

"Let me go Piers!"

"Kate, stop it!" He said holding her tightly

"Let go of me Chris!" Angelina flailed in his muscular arms

"Enough Angelina!" He shouted

The two were struggling in the arms of the military men and proved to have a lot of strength stemming from hatred accumulated in centuries.

In an absurd synch, both spit on each other before being completely dominated by the soldiers.

"It won't stay like this!" Katerina threatened

"You certainly won't!" Angelina replied at the same level

"You two, that's enough!" Chris ordered. His thick voice echoed through the town

The two continued staring.

"Piers, take Kate to the hotel"

"Why do I have to go?"

"Because I'm said so!"

She twitched her jaw angrily and held herself not to respond that he did not boss her, but recoiled as she began regaining self-control, or at least a part of it, but she noted Angelina laughing at his response. Laughing at her as if she had won the battle at that moment when that man chose to stay with her now.

Piers obeyed and turned around with Kate.

"No need to drag me, I know how to walk!" She grunted trying to get away from him

"I know you can walk, but I know you're the smart type" he replied, holding her by the wrist

"Smart is my ass! Let me go!"

Kate continued to grumble as they walked back to the hotel to help her with some cleaning and aid her wounds. Piers ignored her grunts and remained silent during the walk.

* * *

 **Lake House**

Chris accompanied Angelina to assist her and begin the first interrogation of what had happened. There was no one but them at the house.

"Why were you fighting, Angie?"

"Because she insulted my daughter"

"Why did she do that?"

"Ugh Chris... I don't want to talk about it now. Look at me! All dirty, full of bruises and in pain... I'm a mess!"

"I just want to understand what happened between you to get to such a level"

"Chris... Please... You always knew she did not like me!"

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing… did you know that she erases the messages I have sent you? And I thought you were ignoring me all this time..."

"What? How do you know that?"

"She told me!"

"She told you just like that?"

"Yes and I can prove it to you... I don't delete the history of our conversations"

He remained thoughtful.

"You're not believing me…"

"It's not that…"

"But it seems so"

"It's not... it's just that I'm going through the same thing again... Kate getting into fights with someone I care..."

"That's a pattern! You should be more suspicious of the things she tells you and then plays the victim..."

"..."

"Take advantage of this event and review your concepts about her..."

"Every coin has two sides..." he shrugged

"I knew you were not believing me!"

"I need to know everything that happened..."

"Are you going to marry her anyway? Do you really want this problem in your life?"

"My life, my decisions!"

"Yeah I know, but don't complain about it later"

"I'm not complaining"

"Chris... you're such a nice guy, you have a huge heart, you help so many people, you have a tough job... you don't deserve this problem!"

"Funny you telling me this... The one who insisted on her name!"

"And you have no idea of how much I regret having influenced you to give her a chance… you don't know how much I regret it!"

"You didn't force me... I got involved with her because I wanted to"

"But because you were fragile and lonely…"

"I wasn't fragile ... it was a progressive thing. It wasn't overnight..."

"Wasn't it Chris? It's not even three months since you guys are officially dating... as far as you told me... And now you're getting married!"

"I didn't lie to you"

"And I believe you and for this very reason I think it's crazy you proposing to her! That wasn't the advice I gave you..."

"Angie, with all due respect... If I decided to marry Kate it's because I really did realize how much I love her ..."

She laughed, "You realized... This is not how love works..."

"I know, but I've been living with her for 6 months. For 3 months I spent 24hrs with her, at work and at home. This gave us a great time of coexistence and in these 6 months my life has never been so good. I never felt so good in my whole life! I'm not a teenager who has many years yet to do things. I'm 38, almost 40, and until I met Kate I hadn't seen the big picture of how much I was losing and dedicating myself so excessively to work. I was so used to my routine, but in 3 months I've lived the intensity I didn't live in 37years! I am no longer a teenager that who thinks think it's end of the world when a relationship doesn't work... I have already broken before and in so many ways that I'm definitely more calloused to "broken heart". There is life after a broken relationship. If it doesn't work out with Kate, life goes on! Asking her in marriage was not a thoughtless decision, I did a lot of contemplation"

"I understand you Chris, I really understand you... but... just think a little more now after what you've witnessed... She almost killed me!"

"That's why I want to know the truth. How did it all start... or you are really telling me that she came here after you just to curse your daughter and make that scene out there? Is that your version?"

"I don't know why she came, I just know I saw her here"

"And?"

"You know she's jealous... and our antipathy is mutual..."

"I know…"

"It was taking time for this confrontation to happen..."

"Antipathy is not enough to kill someone…"

She gasped with a shrug, "She's crazy..."

"Angie... I'm sorry, but it's hard to believe that Kate has simply freaked out and attacked you that way for no reason"

She rolled her eyes and shouted, "The reason is you Chris! You! That's so simple!"

"Then why did she insult your daughter if I'm the reason?"

"Want to know something?"

"Yes"

"Go to your wife and forget about me! Forget we happened; forget that one day we met. The paintings I gave you, donate it, throw it away or burn it... whatever, just get rid of it"

"Don't be so dramatic"

"It's not drama! It's the reality... you made your choice and you're moving on with your life... I'll move on with mine"

"I won't let you go with yours without telling me everything that happened"

"What difference does make it? Nothing is going to change!"

"You can't say that"

"Yes I can! She is your fate and that's it! I just was... actually I was nothing. We've never had anything, just that almost kiss... but this is nothing compared to what you have with her..."

Chris let out a sigh and looked out the window at the lake. The almost kiss. The only moment he had Angelina in his arms after longing for her so many times in secret.

"I just wanted to get back to that day Chris... To do things differently before I'd lose you..."

"We can't go back in time..."

"I wasted time... and this tortures me, but now we're having a new chance..."

"The only chance you are having is to tell me the whole truth, I know you and I see in your eyes, in your expressions that there is something you are not telling me..."

"Okay, I admit it, I also said something that I regretted right away and apologized to her, but she didn't want to accept it"

"What did you say?"

She lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Angie, what did you say?"

"I told her she's a liar and disingenuous. That she was rotten inside and didn't deserve you... but I said that after she insulted my daughter by saying that I used her to get your attention... She imagines things that don't exist, Chris! She is mad! Her jealousy is sick! Just like Katarina's!"

"Don't say that name!"

"But it's the truth Chris... you yourself told me that Kate is inspired by that monster! And she's getting to be just like her! That's why I warn you, don't marry her! You're going to live the same thing as Christopher did..."

"You're delirious... for making such comparisons!"

"Am I delirious? Look at me Chris! Look at my body! My clothes! See the marks she left on my skin! Is this delusion to you? They are very real to me!"

"I don't agree with what she did... but will listen to me about it!"

"Chris... forget about her! You're still in time to make a new choice... or we continue from where we were left off..."

"Angie... it's not that easy"

"I know it's not, but this is our chance! Let's take it!"

"You have George"

"I'm not with him anymore! We broke up!"

"Angie..."

She saw the confusion in his eyes and approached him to embrace him, "Stay with me Chris..."

"Angie..." he whispered struggling with her contact

"Let's live our love, look at this paradise, it's our place!"

"I'm happy with her..."

"You live an illusion with her... I love you for real, I have always loved you!"

They stared at each other. Their hearts were racing. That was indeed a special place in part of their spirits. It was a place of eternal promises, of swearing of love. There was where they had loved each other several times and lived a simple and fanciful love. There was their hiding place.

But it was also the place of their beginning and ending.

And also the final location of other people...

Chris and Angelina were very close and very close to kissing, but he was still reluctant and moved away from her.

"This is wrong!"

"Our love is not a mistake!" she spoke in frustration

"I'm still committed to her"

"Send a message and say it's over"

"I won't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because she deserves more than a message!"

"Oh come on, Chris! She doesn't deserve so much consideration!"

"How not?!"

"She lies to you! You're only her trophy!"

"And what does guarantee me that I'm not your trophy and you're not lying to me as well?"

"Because you know me!"

"True, and that's why I know there's something else you're not telling me and I'll check it with her"

"Of course she will made out things against me! That is her gift, to lie!"

"Even so, I also know her and I'll know when she will be omitting her contribution"

"Chris..."

"Do you have anything else to say about your version?" He said, heading to the entrance open door

She walked over him and took his hand gently, "I didn't want things to get to that point. I swear I didn't want it to! I tried everything to avoid all this, all this confrontation, all this mess... but I couldn't bear to swallow this love for you..."

He swallowed and sighed, "You had your chance Angie, several times. And a part of me waited for you for a long time, but I understand you and I know it wasn't easy for you either. You had many things to give up and above all you have a beautiful daughter who will always join you to George who is a good man and his love for you has always been remarkable"

"He had his turn..."

"I know, we had a life before we met and then we will have too"

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that one day I was in your place and I hoped there would have a loophole for me, but it didn't happen. And I moved on with my life until we met and we had that almost moment. It was also difficult for me to remember the almost, but life has taught me to move on despite all the sacrifices I have to make, and especially in my personal life... and then I reflected of everything that could happen from that moment on and I stopped avoiding new things that happened in my life. I'm not on 20's anymore. I'm not a boy anymore and I've learned to think a little further than I live now, but not too far away plans either, but things that can be more concrete.

And with this new way of seeing the world around me, I noticed the return that life gave me without me realizing it, so I ended up experiencing things that I had never lived. Feeling things I'd never felt, and I liked it.

And I came to realize that living in "what if" is not life! "Almost" is not everything. And I accepted it for real.

And I realized that the almost was in fact the everything. What had to happen between us stopped there. And I accepted it and it stopped hurting, I stopped longing it."

"Chris..."

"Angie... Things happen the way they have to. But think better If we had continued "the almost" what would have we turned out? I'd be your lover and you a traitor. Though, in a way "the almost" was a betrayal. George was a good, and devoted man who didn't deserve it! In spite of everything it was an intimate and emotional contact, and I don't want to repeat it. The roles are reversed. Today I'm the committed part with too much to abdicate and I don't want to do it unless I realize I'm really living an illusion and if I find out Kate lies to me in a harmful way…Because I'm sure I really love Kate!

Plus, you didn't abdicate yourself when you also had the chance, why should I now?"

"I regretted it and that's why I'm here!"

"Then deal with it. I'm sorry for the frankness…"

"Chris... I love you!"

"If you really love me, you'll tell me the whole truth, because I know, I feel you're not being completely honest with me and what you're not telling me is what actually made Kate explode... and I tell you more, there's still a chance she'll tell me everything and I end up getting very angry at you. It's better a truth that hurts than a lie that comforts... I deal with her jealousy, because she never deceived me about it, she never lied that she was not jealous."

"But she acted behind your back!"

"I like to be told the truth; I decide whether it hurts or not. I'll talk to her about that too! I want to test if she'll admit it no matter how much it hurts."

She swallowed, "So either ways you'll get mad at me..."

"Angie..."

"I get it Chris, you made your choice. There is nothing else I can say that will change your mind... I only wish you good luck then!" she said in tears and closed the door in his face and fell to the ground defeated

"Angie..." He called her name a few times knocking on the door

She ignored him and cried rivers.

Some things hadn't changed. She felt the same way like in the past the day Christopher and Angelique signed the divorce. Christopher was determined to remain married to Katarina despite everything he knew about her, despite all the lovers she attacked, despite all the chaos she caused, despite all, he wanted to remain married to Katarina and he was determined to be happy with her and their big family. Although, that time Angelique had omitted Katarina's dark plans against her, against them.

And now Chris Redfield did exactly the same, even after witnessing Kate's dark side.

With blurry eyes, Angelina looked at Katarina's picture, which seemed to look at her with an air of victory.

Although, Angelina was not surprised nor disappointed. She had already been alerted several times by Mr. Lionel and had just confirmed Mr. Lionel's words: "Katarina was the woman Christopher Reed loved the most, for he loved her with all forms of love, even when he hated her the most, for hatred is the love that has fallen ill. And one cannot hate without ever having loved another. The opposite of love is not hate but indifference, and Christopher Reed has never managed to remain indifferent to the brunette"

Angelina kept staring at Katarina's frame, ignoring the painting of the sweet Angelique next to it, and smiled at Katarina as she wiped her tears, "Now he's going to be mad at me too..."

She seemed to be pleased with the new conquest.

Seeing that Angelina wouldn't open the door and continued ignoring him, Chris let out a deep sigh and left. He looked at the lake and glimpsed the beauty that didn't affect him so much anymore. Indeed, that place was strange and it did seem to hide a lot of obscurity.

He continued his way and passed the barn and stared at it. He seemed to want to connect to it somehow. Not him, but someone inside him wanted such a connection. He stood still for a few seconds and the clouds began to dissipate and the sun's rays began to rise.

He followed the path to the entrance gate, but before he could leave, the sunshine made something reflect on the ground, and as he looked at the grass, he saw the engagement ring he had given Kate. He crouched and picked up the object before heading towards the hotel.

* * *

 **Hotel**

"That fucking bitch! She must be making up a lot of lies to him and putting him against me! But it won't stay like this, ah, it definitely won't!"

"How did all this happen?" Piers asked but Kate didn't seem to hear him

"My day was so perfect until I met that damn whore!"

"Kate, tell me how it all started? What did you go after her?"

"I didn't go after her! I didn't even know she was in town!"

"So what were you doing at her house?"

"I did not go to her house, I was walking with no destination because I was so happy with the wedding… So I decided to do some research on ideas at wedding clothing boutiques so I can get an idea for my dress if we don't go home until next month"

"Will the wedding be next month?"

"Yes! I only have one month to organize everything, party, guests, invitations, my dress! And so I went shopping, I didn't even notice I was near the lake land, but then when I saw it I remembered Mr. Lionel and I miss him, so I had the idea to visit the park, not the house!"

"Her house is in the park..." he shrugged

"It doesn't matter! I wasn't going to her house!"

"Okay, so?"

"Then I saw her coming in my direction and got staring me, then she tried to kick me out of there. But you know how I am and I tried to ignore her, but she pulled my by the arm and started talking a lot of shit to me. Then I lost my temper and I replied to her too, so we got arguing"

"I see, but knowing you too well I bet that you said things she wouldn't like to hear, pushing her to her limit."

"I really did! I had to defend myself! Defend my relationship! She was bragging too much that she just needed to snap her fingers and my Chris would get back to her without thinking twice! I got pissed off with that and I remembered the love messages she sent him and then it all became a snow ball... but she's such a low-level slut that she had to feel superior and humiliate me in some way and... and that's when she insulted my infertility! I couldn't take it." Kate busted into tears as she remembered what hurt her the most feeling the mix of anger and sadness

Piers pitied her, he knew how sensitive that matter was to Kate so he put his hand on her shoulder in support.

"I never expected something like from that girl..." he commented

"She is sneaky and a liar! She's so of envy of me! She wants to be like me, she wants to have everything that is mine, but nobody sees it! Just me! And now my Chris is there alone with her listening to her lies! That's what hurts me the most at the moment... He kicked me out of there! He preferred her first! I'm his bride! I should be the first and only one!" she shouted

He brushed her hair away to look her in the eyes, "He'll listen to you. Don't t worry about it. He'll come back and listen to you" he spoke with a gentle tone

A gentle tone Kate had never heard before and made her wonder, "How can you be sure?"

"I know he will!"

"He's taking too long!"

"Calm down! He will come back"

"He will but against me..."

"Just be honest with him, Kate. He may even get upset at first, but you can be sure that he will pass through it and the sincerity is what he will take into account"

"The problem is we're talking about that disgusting, parasitic thing in our lives!"

"Calm down Kate..."

"Ugh stop telling me to be calm down! it makes me even more angry!"

He laughed lightly and stood up, "You'd better take a cold shower, I'm going to get more ice, because the sooner you treat the wounds with it the better to avoid more soreness afterwards"

"All because of that bitch!"

As the tub filled, Piers left the room to get more ice with Yana.

Kate, alone in the room, was still mulling over the battle. There was a whirlwind going on inside her, a mixture of anger and guilt. Anger and guilt over things said and heard.

Like Angelina, Katerina believed she was Katerina's reincarnation and Angelina was Angelique's, but the brunette didn't know if Angelina had had the same access to the distant past when they were sisters.

In any case, the two who most possessed the knowledge of the past were the ones that still repeated the same mistakes, at least, towards one another. Of course, in other aspects they had managed to change, but the eternal quarrel for Chris's love was the same.

A breeze.

Kate immediately felt herself being watched and looked at the hallway and saw the middle-aged Moirai staring at her.

"I'm sorry for the box on your face, but it was the only way to stop you"

"You..."

"Fate takes several turns and often returns to the same point of origin, even if reflected as a mirror. The Mirror of Time... You have the knowledge, girl, stop reflecting the same reflection! Why can't you be the first to give up? Don't you know that the strongest one is who forgives first? Is the one who swallows the pride first?"

"I'm trying..."

"I know you are, and that's why you got the merit of my intervention... but your merit ended there. What are you going to do from now on? This is what you have to think of, after all, you have a goal, don't you? A dream?"

"The impossible dream…"

"I already told you that it is not impossible"

"I'm rotten inside..."

"Then clean yourself!"

"How?"

"You already know... You asked for that, you asked for this meeting and confrontation... do not escape your responsibility... and remember, gotta have harmony between reason and emotion. Focus on the present, the past cannot be changed and learn to trust! And above all, always be sincere!"

Kate blinked at the noise at the door and Moirai disappeared instantly. Kate kept looking at the door, wondering it was Piers, but it was Chris.

She studied his facial and body expressions. He was serious and held a bag of ice he caught up with Piers when he met him in the hallway.

"The tub is already full, can I put the ice in the water?" He asked

"Yes..." she replied, feeling anxious and continued to watch him

"You can get in"

"OK..."

"Do you want some help?" He asked still not showing much emotion

"Yes, please..."

"Thank god you were wearing pants..." he commented

"So true... Maybe it was fate..."

He chuckled, "Yeah it seems so, yet the important thing now is that you keep repeating this bath for the next 24hrs to avoid the bruises and further pain"

"I'll do that... thank you for taking care of me after all..."

"We'll talk about this later"

"Sure!"

"I want to know what actually happened"

"I'll tell you everything"

"I hope so"

"I will… I will tell you everything... I want everything to be clear between us, because we only have one month... if you still want to marry me..."

He nodded in agreement, "By the way, didn't you miss anything?"

"Only you..."

He laughed and touched his pocket, "This" he said showing the engagement ring

She opened her mouth in surprise, "I didn't even realize I wasn't wearing it..."

He took her hand and gently placed the ring again on her finger and kissed her kindly on the lips, "Put a lot of work on that bath so you'll look beautiful in the dress without marking next month!"

They hugged each other. That was their moment. Nothing and no one but themselves could end it.

.

.

" _We end up going deeper with each other than ever before. It's a profound, soft, vulnerable moment._ "

* * *

 **Thank you McTamale** **for the review! :D**

 **What can I say about this chapter? I guess it speaks for itself...**

 **It's hard to evolve! It's hard not repeating the same pattern, the same mistakes, to end the cycle. It happens to everyone. it's hard to change!  
But what matters is never stop trying...**

 **Mirror of Time is right at the corner...**

 **Stay tuned!**


	72. Strange Love

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

" _To whom much is given, from him much is expected" Luke 12:48_

* * *

 **Lake House**

Angelina was getting up when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She frowned. There was no one in the house besides her and she stared at it as the footsteps approached and an elderly woman appeared and stared at her.

"It's interesting to watch what people do with their free will. And the irony is that there are many people who still revolt for not knowing everything... but what's the use? They hardly know how to deal with what little they know... but there is nothing wrong with that, divine justice is wise and respects the free will of each one"the mysterious woman spoke

"..." Angelina bowed her head

"Don't bow your head. Take your own responsibility and accept that you failed, in case you regret it. Take on your responsibility and the choice, if you don't regret it. But don't bow your head and act like an ignorant victim"

"It's the eternal battle between reason and emotion..."

"It's the eternal dance of complacency and hypocrisy! It is convenient to justify and ignore knowledge to keep the convenience of choice, but the real problem is not what you feel, but what you do about that feeling. That's what reason is for... it's meant to be the tool of action for change... when you really want to change... so don't justify yourself with the feelings, but with the knowledge you ignore to remain the same…"

Angelina swallowed, "I underestimated myself... I believed I was ready to do differently this time..."

"Stop justifying yourself! Accept it!"

Angelina frowned frustrated, "I admit I don't want to see them together!"

"Now you're doing what's right... you're being honest!"

"I really wanted to be with him, because that's their third chance..."

"Second..."

"It doesn't matter! It's the third time they've been together and I always have to give it up! That's not fair!"

"Girl, you can be sure that your complaint is impertinent, because you've had more chances with him than you think..."

"Did I?"

"Yes! You've had the privilege of living a lifetime without her presence in his destiny... I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about her..."

"So that proves she's not his soul mate!"

"It doesn't prove you are either..."

"..."

"The truth is you don't know the true concept of soul mate, and it's not up to me to explain it either. All I can say is that nothing is by chance, if she or you are in his destiny, it is because you have merit for it, but you are lacking to organize and clean better these spiteful feelings... love is not a dispute. 'Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn't envy, it doesn't boast. It does not mistreat, it does not seek its interests, it does not anger easily, it does not hold a grudge. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things'... in addition, I quoted someone else's words..."

"That sounded like Mr. Lionel talking..."

"Thus secrets of a heart buried in the midst of battles in the eternal dance of reason and emotion..."

"I tried to be like that and look what happened to me..." Angelina said looking at Angelique's picture and tears formed in her eyes

"And it will happen again if one of you doesn't stop this cycle of grudge from time to time, that is why you acquired for the knowledge of the secrets of the past! These diaries are not gifts, they are objects for reflection so that you can finally change for better! To understand better, not reinforce the latent negativity you all already have!"

"I didn't read their diaries..."

"Because you didn't want to! You've been here several times, you've talked to Lionel several times! You had more chances than any of them and look what you did! You are making the same mistakes from a distant past! And let's be realistic? You do not have to read anyone's diaries, not even yours! Can you wonder why?"

"Why?"

"Because you already know the past! You don't need to look back. You already know where you've been. You just need to know where you're going. Use your eyes to look into the future and make the present. So don't let the past torment you. You cannot avoid what you have become, but from now on you can choose what you will become. To be the living corpse of what was life yesterday is to waste the opportunity of a happy life. Because if you keep rereading and rereading that paragraph, you will get stagnant in time and you will never reach the end of the text. The past may even be in your head, but the future is in your hands. It's as if destiny were a blackboard where you have to erase what's there to write new things."

Angelina remained silent and looked at Angelique's picture, reflective. She now felt the dispute between Angeline and Angelique and she no longer could recognize herself.

Moirai had disappeared while the redhead stood staring at the paintings of Angelique and Katarina for a few seconds, then she turned to Christopher's, and long minutes passed.

.

.

Katarina had managed to arouse Angeline's anger again, or perhaps her anger had never really disappeared, but it was well camouflaged under Angelique's shyness and low self-esteem, or perhaps Angelique's meekness was only a consequence of her most desired wish, to have had Christopher in her arms.

Gentleness was perhaps satisfaction.

Something that hadn't happened this time.

Katarina killed Angelique, or just exposed Angeline to the new era... or just for Chris...

The dispute of the 21st century was between Angeline and Katarina, the two legends of Bohma.

It was known that Angeline had not spawned Bohma's legendary twins, but Angeline was known as their mother. The legendary twins who started the great prosperity era of Bohma.

Katarina was known as The Great Mother of Bohma, but Angeline was the Legendary Mother of Bohma.

It was a Mothers' duel.

Angeline's lies to dirt her sister - Katherine's - reputation were influential in the hunting down of the young couple and in separating them, and especially separating them from their children.

Katherine never forgave her sister's betrayal, of separating her from Christian and their children, especially from their beloved and desired children after discovering the truth in the afterlife.

And so Katarina was born, unconsciously willing to get the title she deserved and continue the love story with her beloved man, but the competition of the old sisters remained.

The lousy personal choices once again sealed the failure of both. Katarina and Christopher acquired immense mismatch to try to get back to the origins of what they felt as Christian and Katherine, and Angeline's "farce" remained intact allied with the martyr Angelique had become.

The history took a different turn. Was Katarina really the real villain? Was Angelique so good? Was Christopher really so blind?

With the access to the old diaries and revelations through dreams, the truth was more exposed than ever on the table.

But the truth has several facets, every dog has its day.

And the Mirror of Time reflected the best and the worst of each of them.

.

.

" _Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." ― Jean-Paul Sartre_

* * *

 **Somewhere in Bohma**

The place was dark and underground.

Jerry, Mr. Lionel's former assistant used a flashlight to light the way as he followed the narrow corridor to a rocky chamber that hid a kind of living room and sat on a rock there was a white silhouette.

"How's everything, Jerry?"

"So far so good, milord."

"Any news about any attempt to break into my house?"

"No sir. I hired 24-hour surveillance for a large perimeter of the area. No one has access to any of the entrances to the cave."

"Good. And did anyone try to after that?"

"Only Chris and Piers were spotted on one occasion, but they didn't attempt any approach to the cave"

"I see... And you know how long will they stay in Bohma?"

"I don't know, but I believe that after Chris saw you that day he's going to stay longer because he came to investigate the deaths of the researchers…"

"So I guess I'm helping him do his job and maybe I should help more and get over with it..."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking... since the meeting I cannot stop thinking about their reaction... and I understand... even if it's painful..."

"And what are you thinking?"

"He wants to see me, so I'm going to show up for him"

"What? How come?"

"It's time to get it over with Jerry! I cannot take it anymore! I made a promise, but I cannot stand this life anymore! Look where I am! Look how I am! This is not life, it is penance!"

"I understand, but what are you going to do with the remaining Black Herbs?"

"I'm going to destroy them all from the root! It's the easiest thing for me since I have full access to them"

"But..."

"There is no "but" Jerry. The Black Herbs can no longer exist! Look how many people have already died because of the creation of creatures that increasingly have an absurd power of regeneration! If the madmen who make this kind of creation have access to the Black Herb and all its properties, it will be the end of everything, the end of the world! I cannot let that happen! And much less I can continue existing, because it is no use extinguishing the herbs while I continue to exist! There is no safe place for me anymore and the truth is that I do not even want to find a safe place, I want this penance to end and that's why I'm already setting up the special incinerator so that nothing of me will be left!"

Jerry remained silent, without judgments. It was not up to him to judge any choice made.

"I see, so if you want I can talk to Chris and tell him to come see you wherever you is your preference"

"Please do this, and only him... If Kat wants it too, she has the permission too, but no one else besides them!"

"I'm sorry giving my opinion on it, but I doubt she wants to come... you said that she did not react well when she saw you and even fell sick"

"I know... I remember her horror expression very well, but... Lionel said they have access to all the past records and she was the one who was more curious and willing to understand things... maybe this curiosity can get bigger than fear..."

"I'll try to incite her curiosity... I know you really want to see her too, but I don't promise you she will come"

"You do not know how much and don't worry about it. I've learned to keep my expectation very low, almost zero."

* * *

 **Hotel, Bohma**

Chris was taking a nap on the bed while Kate was showering.

 **Flashback**

It was daylight, Christopher was at the table in the living room while writing letters to send to his children who no longer lived with him and already lived in other houses with their own families.

"Daddy, Daddy!"

He heard the screams of Melissa, his youngest 12-year-old daughter, approaching the house.

"What happened Mel?" He replied

"Hurry! Henry..." she spoke catching her breath

"What about him?"

"He got hurt!"

"Again?" He asked getting up quickly

"Hurry dad, he's bleeding a lot!"

"Where is he?"

"In there" she pointed to the barn

Without thinking twice, Christopher rushed to the location, and as he entered, he saw little Henry, holding his wrist all bloodied, and a machete full of blood on the floor near him.

"What happened, son?" He asked worried, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket

"I cut myself" the boy replied coolly

"How?"

"I wanted to make a test…"

"Test what, son?! Look at you!"

"I'm fine, dad..."

Christopher knelt down and looked better at his son's wrist and could not believe his eyes. Or rather, in what he didn't see! The boy's pulse was perfectly unmarked.

"Are you lying to me as your mother did?" He said in shock and irritated at the same time

(*)

As time passed, Henry became an adult and remained very attached to his father, and they both had some hobbies in common such as going out to hunt, or training.

Of all the children, Henry was the only one who kept close to his father in the everyday, even more than Oliver. Henry was the son most attached to his father and never questioned his father at all.

They both had a very special connection.

One day, he was helping his father with the barn reform.

Christopher no longer had all the physical vigor of youth; after all, he was almost 60 years old. But in spite of his old age and increasingly weakened health, he was still active in what he could and always had the help and support of Henry for everything - his most special son.

But it was during the reform of the barn that an accident happened and a wooden slat struck Henry in the chest.

"Henry!" Christopher shouted desperately seeing his impaled son

Henry was agonizing with the pain of the object crossing his chest, but even with the pain, he held the batter and in a quick movement, he pulled it out. The lung had been pierced and a huge amount of blood spurted from him as he agonized on the floor.

Christopher was desperate not knowing what to do.

"Dad..." he whispered before closing his eyes

Christopher bent over his son's body, weeping. He could not believe that happened before his eyes. He could not believe he would have to bury another child of his. He'd have to bury his special son.

 **End of Flashback**

Chris woke up with a start looking sideways as Kate dried herself carefully after the shower.

"Are you okay?" She asked noticing his behavior

"Yeah... it was just a dream... How are you?"

"I've been better..."

"That what happens fighting in the streets..." he spoke with a shrug

She inhaled after noticing his warning tone, "Are you ready to listen to me?"

"Of course"

She sat next to him and took a deep breath, "I didn't look for the fight... I was very happy with our engagement and with the little time to organize the wedding things, I ended up going shopping... I didn't have realized where I was until I looked at the lake gate. At no point did I realize that it is now her house... for me it was still the public park where we could visit Mr. Lionel without asking permission... I did not go in to get in a fight, I went in because I remembered of Mr. Lionel and how much I miss him."

"I know you really got very close..."

She nodded in agreement, "But then I saw her coming towards me, and it's no secret that we don't like each other…"

"I know..."

"I tried ignoring her but I didn't like the tone she spoke to me and things got worse when she held my arm... I felt upset and didn't like her insinuations about you... she was trying to low me down, and she even tried to talk shit about you when she said that she just needed to snap her fingers for you to be with her... as if you were her dog, although she did not use that dog term, that's how I understood her words"

She wiggled her fingers anxiously.

"But was that the reason why you attacked her?"

"No, of course not! That was only the beginning... but I was already angry with her after reading the messages she sent you trying to seduce you... I know I did wrong in searching your things without permission, but... but... Damn, it's not easy to see my boyfriend talking to a girl that he had feelings... it's difficult to believe that there can be friendship when one of the parties clearly still nurtures the hope of a relationship with the other... It's impossible not feeling jealous of it!"

"Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you! But I don't trust her! I keep imagining her waiting for the opportunity to seduce you, to kiss you, whatever!"

"You can't control people, nor their actions..."

"But you can avoid hers by staying away from her!"

"I did not like that you searched my things behind my back"

"I apologize for the lack of permission, but I don't regret it. I was right about her intentions!" She replied, folding her arms," Why did not you tell me that you kissed her?"She asked irritated.

"It was not a kiss, it was an almost kiss..."

She laughed scornfully, "An almost kiss? Is it possible to almost kiss?"

"It was not a kiss on the lips... it was on the corner…"

"Big del!" She said sarcastically

"But that was all... nothing else never beyond that..."

"Did you ever sleep with her?"

"No, never!"

"Do you feel like it?"

He chuckled, "No..."

"Don't lie to me!"

"Kate, please don't get me another woman. Don't try looking for things that don't exist so you can justify your jealousy and blame me for it!"

"..."

Chris sighed, and despite the rebuke he appreciated Kate's honesty by admitting what she did on her own, it proved what Angelina said, "Anyways, continue what you were saying..."

She inhaled deeply, "You know I'm not the type to back down when confronted"

"I know…"

"So that's what happened. She said shit and I said shit too"

"So you admit that you teased her, too?"

She lowered her head biting her lips in nervousness, "I spoke something I shouldn't have... but nothing justifies what she said about me! Nothing! And that's when I exploded"

"What did she tell you?"

"She insulted me, she humiliated me, she mocked my condition..." tears began to form, "She said I was rotten, dry... defective! And that's why no life was generated in me... and she even admitted she thought it was good, for I deserve this..." she couldn't bear the pressure to hold the cry

"What?" He asked, frowning, astonished

"I didn't explode out of jealousy! I exploded because she... my love... what kind of person mocks another's disability? What kind of person says to a sick person, 'I'm glad you're sick!' What kind of monster does that? It's like you tell someone who has no leg that they deserve no pity and it's good they don't have a leg! It's like saying that is beautiful to have a disability, that is beautiful that suffering! It is not! This is horrible! This is bullying!"

Chris was amazed at what he was hearing. He never expected those words to come out of Angelina's mouth.

"I knew she laughs at me, she has pleasure in my suffering! She laughs that I cannot fulfill my dream! And she still wants to take you from me, my other dream that I once talked to Mrs. Life the day I got my diagnosis, I said, I begged! I said that since I could not fulfill the dream of being a mother, then I wished I could live a great love! And then you came to my life, you are my great love and that stupid bitch wants to take you from me! She wants to see me suffer! So it hurts me to know that you have a friendship with her and I was pissed off when you went to her first!"

"And I'm glad I did it, Kate..." he spoke with an ease tone

"Oh really? Why?"

"Because I could be sure who's lying to me"

"And what difference would it make if it were the other way around? I am your bride! I should be your priority! Not her!" she shouted

He took her hand gently, "You are my priority, you're my fiancée and my future wife... I didn't make the mistake of choosing you over her, Kate..." he spoke in a gentle tone and lowered his face close to hers and looked at her deep in the eyes, "I can see in your eyes that you're not lying to me, I can feel your sincerity even in admitting your collaboration in the fight... this is worthy! It's an honor for me to have all of your love and I hope I can fill your expectations..."

"Stop talking to her..." she whispered

"I already did... it was worth it for me to talk to her first... I realized she's not who I thought she was... And I could still get the ring you had lost..." he smiled kindly

She smiled back

"You too are my great love" he whispered before kissing her kindly. Then he ran his fingers gently on her face with a touch of love so that symbolically the bruises could heal faster and without subsequent pain.

They hugged.

.

.

Not being stubborn and being honest was worth it. Listening to so many people's advices to be honest and after reflecting on past mistakes was worth it to make the change be effective.

Kate was aware that she no longer was innocent Katherine, not even stormy Katarina. She was discovering herself more and more apart from those women she once upon a time used to be. Surely she still had some of their traits, but she had the intention to be clear this time. The man she loves praises that.

Yet, she still had something to hide and as they hugged, she received a message in her cell phone.

A message from her brother Vlad.

She ignored it. She had had enough for that day.

On the other hand, Chris more than never used his rationality for good. He no longer was his emotional counterparts of the past, at least, not as they used to be.

He still had his temperamental trait, but as he aged he became more resigned about things. He tended to listen more before judging.

He was still coping with the recent events, but as a more grounded man, he was more focused on the present than in the past he couldn't change. That's why he didn't find the use in reading past things. He was more concerned with the now on.

Although, not admitting it consciously, it was evident that having more access to Christian's feelings through dreams had had more influence on him than he could perceive. Somehow all that Christopher went through was worth it in the end. It served to unbury the kind man in him.

Christian could love Katarina after all. He was kind and comprehensive. Sadly they wasted a lifetime to accomplish it. Although, Christopher Reed wasn't completely gone and it was in Chris's hands to make the final decision when he learned some revelations.

" _What is important is not what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens to us." ― Jean-Paul Sartre_

 _._

 _._

 _I'm sorry, I have to go,  
I knew, it was a lie,  
How much time I lost  
For someone who promises and then never changes  
Strange love puts in troubles  
But in reality it is us.  
There is a strange love which makes grow  
And smile between tears.  
How many pages there to write,  
Dreams and bruises to share,  
There is love which happens often at this age,  
Gets entangled inside of this soul  
Which asks without deciding  
If it is love which it gives to us  
And how many lost nights in tears,  
Rereading those letters  
Which you don't manage to throw away any more  
From the maze of nostalgia  
A great love which comes to an end  
But why does it remain in the heart?  
A strange love which comes and leaves  
To thoughts which hide there  
True stories which belong to us  
But they leave each other like we  
A strange fragile love,  
Imprisoned, free.  
A strange love which puts in troubles  
But in reality it is us  
A strange love which happens often at this age,  
Gets entangled inside of a soul,  
A strange love which puts in troubles  
But gets lost like we  
A strange love which comes and leaves  
True stories which belong to us  
A strange fragile love,  
Imprisoned, free.  
A strange love which can not live  
And gets lost inside of us  
I'm sorry, I have to go,  
This time I have promised it to myself  
Because I want a true love  
Without you... (Strani Amore – Laura Pausini)_

* * *

 **Thank you McTamale and Xaori** **for the reviews! :D**

 **I decided to end the chapter with this song that so fits what's happening here.**

 **We are so close to the end of BT. I can't believe it, although Mirror of Time will really tell us the true end of this saga.  
I can spoil you that in M.O.T. we will see so much more of content with B. which is the game's essence, of course the drama and romance will continue and we will also see Chris during his amnesia in 2013, not to mention we will also learn who Chris will end up with after all...muhauah**

 **Stay tuned!**


	73. What I have Become

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Piers' Room**

The young soldier continued to read the contents of Chris's flash drive while he took care of Kate after the fight with Angelina.

And the more he found out about Christopher, he could not help but make some comparisons with his friend and boss Chris.

Christopher seemed to be a primordium version of Chris as a young man, according to what he remembered from the conversations with Claire: temperamental, determined, and concerned about the people he liked.

Years fighting against bio-threats and personal sacrifices and losses created a thicker skin on the captain.

The files of Christopher's later life showed him more tormented by the remorse of past mistakes and choices, especially in relation to his children. It was painful for a protective father to bury each of the children who perished before him. He felt like it was not the natural order.

And being a single father had never been in his mind either, or even part of his dreams of having a family.

However, the more Piers read the diaries, the more he understood Christopher's complex emotional state and unlike what the public knew about his love for Angelique, more up to the end of his life there were only few mentions of Angelique. He had finally allowed her to rest in peace.

And in the last two years of life, Christopher only talked about Katarina and their children, including Oliver, but most of the content was about him and Katarina.

In the last two years of his life, Christopher seemed to ignore the marriage annul to the brunette, and often he referred to her as his wife. For him, the marriage on paper was just a detail.

It was clear the confusion he had, confessions of anger and love mingled. Illusion and deception were frequent words in the accounts.

Christopher seemed to stay aloof from what happened to Katarina, but it was only by public facade. It was he who fought with the proper authorities so she could be allowed to keep the trunk she always carried wherever she went. The trunk with the memories of the children they had. For the authorities he claimed that the trunk was of no use to him and only served to remember the terrible memory of that viper, but in the diary Christopher confessed that he fought for her for know how much that trunk was important to her and also to be a way of redeeming himself for having taken away the children from her during their raising. The trunk was a form of comfort to both of them. And a link that connected them.

Christopher knew he did not have much time to live and began to organize things before his departure. He did not want to leave anything partly solved and yet he asked God which he did not believe the strength and courage to face Katarina for the last time. He wanted to say goodbye and tell her how much he loved her and missed her.

But he could not... his pride was greater, and he missed the only chance he had. He failed.

His health after the meeting suddenly worsened what made it impossible to try to meet her again, and that was when he wrote his final letter.

Piers let out a heavy sigh and finally understood the other side of the story that Lionel stood for.

It was Christopher himself who asked Lionel to take care of Katarina for him when he could no longer, after all, he did not seem to have this merit after so many mistakes that he committed towards her, to them.

And Chris Redfield seemed to be just continuing from the point where Christopher stopped and redeemed himself for Christopher by sheltering Kate and in taking care of her at all times and even in those times when she seemed to not deserve it – a sort of unconscious redemption.

Could this possibility be that they were actually the reincarnations of those people, as Lionel believed? Piers wondered, even though he remained skeptical despite admitting that some things seemed to fit and make sense.

Apart from what he talked about Katarina, Christopher also talked a lot about Henry and Oliver. The living seeds of the women of his life.

At some point his closeness to Oliver declined. They had no animosity, but Oliver hated Katarina with all his might.

And with that distance, Christopher could only count on the frequent help of Lionel and Henry.

Christopher was very categorical in talking about Henry and how much they had in common although Henry had many physical traits of Katarina as pale skin, green eyes, and dark hair.

While Melissa was the opposite and of the girls he had, she was the one who most resembled him physically, while Lilly was practically a duplicate of Katarina, even in the manner of speaking with the French accent.

Despite the love he felt for his children, it was sad to know how he used them to hurt Katarina for a while. And especially how badly he had influenced the twins over their mother.

Even though he regretted it later, the damage had already been done and Christopher managed to hit her in what she loved the most besides him, her children.

Reading about this repentance of Christopher, Piers breathed again and wondered: Was this the source of Chris's fear in being reluctant to have children even with the excuse of work, and also why he felt so much for the pain of Kate not being able to have children? If it were true that they were the reincarnations of the old couple, would that be their karma to be lived together?

Chris might not speak openly and even deny it, but his attitudes seemed to reflect Christopher's dilemmas.

Piers chuckled, "This is already going too far. These ideas have nothing to do. I'd better stop here" he told himself

It was late at night and near the time he'd arranged to meet Yana.

The next morning, they woke up with knocks on the door. Quickly they dressed. It was Chris. Yana left them alone.

"I can see that I won't be the only one to marry in the duo..."

"Ah come on! It's not all that"

"Is not that? Every time I leave you alone and I meet you, the two of you are together"

"I really like her, but marriage is a bit too much at the moment"

"She is cool..."

"She is, but we have an ocean of distance and you and I have a job to do"

"I know... but before we jump to work… I know I'm not the most appropriate to give advice, even more for you, but this ocean story is just an excuse. It's obvious the attunements and the chemistry you have, the things in common that you have. This is rare. In my opinion, it is worth the investment"

"I appreciate your opinion and we'll see what happens... but now we have a job to do and my suggestion is that we should go to your house in Arthena. I have a hunch that there we will get some answer since the perimeter of the cave is out of the question"

"Yes I agree. That's what I woke up thinking of..."

As they headed for the elevator, they were talking, "How's Kate?"

"She is fine. She is resting…"

"Did you guys talk?"

"Yes we did. She told me what happened"

"Do you believe her?"

"I do! She admitted that she was wrong too, but in my view the two made a mistake and should be even"

"Kate is a good girl, but she can lose control because of jealousy..."

"It was not out of jealousy, but it was Angelina's offense that made her explode and I'm completely on Kate's side on this... I never imagined Angelina could be so toxic like that and offend someone's defect…"

"I agree it was heavy what she said"

"I was very disappointed with Angelina, not only for what she said, but because she did not admit what she did, she was not honest with me even having chances for it"

Was it just Chris's biggest motive for his radical decision? Was that omission sufficient reason for him to be so adamant in his decision? Or is it because there is also a reflection of the past according to Mr. Lionel's crazy theories?

"I see ..." Piers replied

They changed subjects afterwards as they headed to Old Arthena.

* * *

 **Fleury Head Office, Technical Department**

"Jesus Christ, what is this?" A young technician commented with a bewildered expression as he stared at the computer screen

The technician watched the retrieved camera footage of one of the researchers killed in Bohma. He watched it several times, paused several scenes and printed the screenshots before picking up the phone, "Please inform Mr. Dennis and Mr. Douglas that the analysis of the video is complete"

It didn't take long for Dennis Fleury, the company's vice president, entered the room.

"What did you find out about the footage?"

"See for yourself" the technician spoke showing him the computer screen

Dennis was stunned and immediately left the lab and headed to his father's office.

"Is that way to enter my office?" said the old man with a pissed tone. His mood wasn't in the best since the assassinations of his researchers

"We got a situation"

"What kind of situation?"

Dennis showed him the screenshots.

Douglas analyzed them, intrigued.

"That situation…" Dennis commented

"What is that?"

"The creature that killed the researchers"

"That I know! I meant what kind of creature is that?"

"I don't know…but I heard locals believe there are guardians in Bohma…"

"Guardians? Is that how they call B. up there?"

Dennis chuckled, "Apparently…"

"Any luck getting into the cave again?"

"None. It's highly secured now"

"I wonder why…" Douglas spoke looking at a picture of an albino creature with human silhouette, bald, shirtless and white eyes although in some the eyes were black

"I don't know if their government knows about it, but certainly someone is covering it…the security seemed private"

"Probably who created it"

"So should we drop the search on the black herb?"

"Not at all! More than ever we have to get it!" He looked again at the picture, "and this creature too!"

"What? How?"

"Somehow! I'll contact a certain agency and provide some tactics. This creature needs to be studied!"

"I see"

"By the way, any luck with the petit bitch?"

"I contacted her brother…for some money he told me where she lives now"

"Where is she?"

"More important is who is she with now?"

"I want to know everything, I told you that! I still will face her! I haven't forgotten how she abandoned me!"

"She lives with the BSAA guy, Chris Redfield…"

"That moron?!" Douglas grumbled

"Yes, and they're engaged"

"Engaged? So he's actually the one she was cheating on me with? I thought it's was the other bastard…"

"Maybe she had both…"

"Coming from her? I don't doubt!"

Dennis shrugged.

"So the petit slut is engaged to the moron that ruins my friend's plans…so he's a bigger stone in my shoe than I expected…I wonder if he knows the truth about her…"

"So what are you going to do?"

"We'll be more careful this time and I will have a talk with the fool…I won't let him be with my petit…the break for her to screw around is over and I will get her back! She's mine!" he gritted his teeth, "But first let's get her attention and see if she's really moved on from her dirty past!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Get her attention! Use her brother or whoever else! Just get her attention to expose her!"

* * *

 **Old Arthena, Christopher Reed's House**

Chris and Piers were allowed to enter the property. Piers noticed the bad maintenance of the place, strangely that got his attention. Not even "his" house had been so abandoned like Chris'. There was certainly something different about that place, he could feel it.

As they entered the house, it didn't look as bad as the outside.

"I didn't have the chance to actually see the house because of Kate, but today we don't have to worry about distractions" Chris commented

"Sure…It's a cool…looks old…"

Chris laughed, "Sure it does, but I don't intend to keep it"

"No?"

"Of course not! It'd be just a waste of money…and a money I don't actually have!"

"Come on! Money is not a problem for you, is it?"

"Piers…look at this place! It's just another expense I'm not willing to have, not because of the money I have, but the waste of money I don't want to have in a place I won't even live"

"Rent it" Piers joked

Chris laughed, "Only if for a ghost!"

They climbed up the stairs. 10 suits, but only one was clean, the master suit where Christopher and Katarina slept.

Chris looked at the king size bed and felt a brief torpor.

Piers stared the walls and all the sexy paintings of Katarina usually half naked, "Wow…" he spoke seeing the erotic painting of Christopher and Katarina hung in front of the bed. Both naked in a very intimate moment. Taken by lust, "Their sexual steam was definitely true!" He commented

Chris looked at the painting. Katarina completely naked and lying between Christopher's naked legs and against his bare chest, her legs fully open as his left hand was over her womanhood covering it from the viewer's, yet his fingers were into her and his right hand cupping her right breast. Her left arm around his neck as they stared each other with passion.

"Yeah…" he swallowed

"I almost feel like in a porn room with all those sexy paintings…" Piers said taking notice of another naked painting of Katarina full frontal holding a red fabric and another of her in a doggy position, or the one she was naked arching her back and head shamelessly.

Chris cleared his throat, "We should get out of here…"

Piers giggled, "Are you embarrassed or something?" he asked with a teasing tone

"I just don't see the reason why we're in this room when we came to investigate the abandoned house in the other area…" Chris replied taking the lead to leave the room.

He certainly was embarrassed. Well, not him exactly. Katarina's image still disturbed him. She was undeniably a sexy and stunning woman even with no clothes on. Her power of seduction was a keen from anyone he had ever seen. Maybe except for Kate. Like Katarina, Kate did have some "crazy" ideas for their intimate moments. She made him do things he never expected to do such as sex in the office even in daylight, or in some public places, or by take pictures or recording them having sex. Of course they deleted it afterwards, but he never forgot the very first time she asked him to take a picture of his view while fucking her from behind. She wanted to see his point of view while she was in doggy style. And he took the pictures. He trusted her. He trusted she wouldn't broadcast it.

Just like Katarina, Kate was shameless during sex and loved the feeling of the danger of being caught in action. Even if they were caught, she certainly wouldn't mind though. She loved the spotlight.

He could guess Christopher did feel the same as him about those "crazy" ideas of those women. Even vexed, they ended up ceding to them. Somehow, he and Christopher did like the danger and the feeling of doing something "wrong" sexually speaking. The feeling of being controversial.

They returned to the living room and they were surprised to see Jerry there greeting them.

"That must be destiny! I was about to call you Chris"

"Why?" Chris replied

"I wanted to talk to you"

"So talk…"

"Where's Kate?"

"She's not here, why?"

"I'd like to talk to her too"

"You can do that at the hotel because here she will never put her feet ever again"

"Oh…now I remember, I heard she thought she had seen a ghost…"

"Yeah…"

"That's sad…there are no ghosts…"

"I agree…"

"So you returned with Piers…By the way, did you like your future house?" Jerry replied turning to Piers

"Yeah…it's cool…"

"Will you keep it?"

Piers shrugged, "I don't know…it depends on the cost of maintenance…"

"I see…but if I'm not mistaken, you were granted a share of money, weren't you?"

"Yes, but…money ends so…"

"I understand…I can totally understand…but I'm glad you're here visiting your houses. It's not every day that someone gets a good house, right!"

"Good house?" Chris spoke looking around. His house didn't look that good, and the land was definitely worse

"They're good houses…"

"Come on! I don't know about his, but I saw Kate's…mine doesn't look good at all, I definitely won't keep it" Chris said with a shrug

Jerry frowned quickly and disguised his reaction, "Maybe you see that way only because you're seeing it only with your eyes…"

"And how can I see another way? Isn't it what eyes are for?"

Jerry laughed, "It makes sense what you said"

Piers observed the man and could sense Jerry was hiding something, "Maybe if we take a better look in the property he might change his mind as he didn't have the time for that last time…" he said

"Sure! It's his place after all"

"So would you mind opening the gate for us"

"Sure, but only for you. Not him"

"Well, it's my land isn't it? Should I decide who I want to join me wherever I go?"

"Absolutely, but only after the land is transferred to your name, until there, I'm the one responsible for all the permissions and interests about the lands, but don't get me wrong, I'm just following orders"

"So why did Kate had the permission to cross the gate? Was it only because she's a girl?"

"Oh of course not! She also had the permission for it"

Chris and Piers exchanged gazes briefly.

"Why?" Chris asked

"Again, I just follow orders…"

Chris let out a sigh and stared at Piers who waved his head at him in acceptance, "Alright…so I'll go alone…"

Even suspicious, Chris and Piers obeyed to the instructions. Chris crossed the gate alone but received a radio from Jerry in case he needed some assistance.

Again Chris made his way into the woods, heading to the abandoned stone cottage of his dreams.

He felt watched.

He felt weird.

He stayed outside only staring the cottage and the surroundings. He carried a hidden knife with him – just in case.

He walked around the house, slowly, observing it. He walked to the back and saw a well. A dry well. He felt shivers staring down the deep hole. He was sure the monster he had seen had ran that way, but it was deep enough for him to see the bottom without a flashlight.

He so felt watched. His heart beating faster and the adrenaline raising his senses. He could feel he wasn't alone. He looked at the house, to the window. Nothing.

He looked more to the surroundings, the wood was too dense to see further. Yet, his intuition screamed to him there was something about that well. About the house.

Carefully he walked back to the front area. He stared the tall mountain among the trees. Once upon a time there used to be a waterfall there.

He heard the birds chirping. Only him and the nature, and some flashes of dream memories.

Why did he receive a worthless land? Once upon a time Christopher Reed kept his family's inherited emeralds in that abandoned place. He looked at an old map showing there used to have a waterfall, a river and emeralds there. An useless map. No water fall. No river. No emeralds anymore.

He turned again to the house. The front door was half open. More closed than open. He frowned. That was weird. He didn't leave it that way when he went there.

Someone else had been there after him and Kate.

He moved slowly to the house and peeped through the window to see inside. Nothing out of the usual as far as he could see.

He headed to the door, slowly he opened it.

He felt shivers from head to toe. Something was different inside. He grabbed his knife before opening it completely.

His eyes widened as he caught the vision of the white silhouette standing near the fireplace staring at him.

"Drop the knife. I won't hurt you…" the white male figure told him with a calm tone

 **Flashback**

It was daylight, Christopher was at the table in the living room while writing letters to send to his children who no longer lived with him and already lived in other houses with their own families.

"Daddy, Daddy!"

He heard the screams of Melissa, his youngest 12-year-old daughter, approaching the house.

"What happened Mel?" He replied

"Hurry! Henry..." she spoke catching her breath

"What about him?"

"He got hurt!"

"Again?" He asked getting up quickly

"Hurry dad, he's bleeding a lot!"

"Where is he?"

"In there" she pointed to the barn

Without thinking twice, Christopher rushed to the location, and as he entered, he saw little Henry, holding his wrist all bloodied, and a machete full of blood on the floor near him.

"What happened, son?" He asked worried, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket

"I cut myself" the boy replied coolly

"How?"

"I wanted to make a test…"

"Test what, son?! Look at you!"

"I'm fine, dad..."

Christopher knelt down and looked better at his son's wrist and could not believe his eyes. Or rather, in what he didn't see! The boy's pulse was perfectly unmarked.

"Are you lying to me as your mother did?" He said in shock and irritated at the same time

(*)

As time passed, Henry became an adult and remained very attached to his father, and they both had some hobbies in common such as going out to hunt, or training.

Of all the children, Henry was the only one who kept close to his father in the everyday, even more than Oliver. Henry was the son most attached to his father and never questioned his father at all.

They both had a very special connection.

One day, he was helping his father with the barn reform.

Christopher no longer had all the physical vigor of youth; after all, he was almost 60 years old. But in spite of his old age and increasingly weakened health, he was still active in what he could and always had the help and support of Henry for everything - his most special son.

But it was during the reform of the barn that an accident happened and a wooden slat struck Henry in the chest.

"Henry!" Christopher shouted desperately seeing his impaled son

Henry was agonizing with the pain of the object crossing his chest, but even with the pain, he held the batter and in a quick movement, he pulled it out. The lung had been pierced and a huge amount of blood spurted from him as he agonized on the floor.

Christopher was desperate not knowing what to do.

"Dad..." he whispered before closing his eyes

Christopher bent over his son's body, weeping. He could not believe that happened before his eyes. He could not believe he would have to bury another child of his. He'd have to bury his special son.

While Christopher was in tears, he didn't realize that Henry's wound was healing. It took a few minutes, but Henry slowly regained consciousness in his father's arms.

"Dad..." he whispered through the weeping of the old man who immediately ceased upon hearing his voice

"Henry..."

"Sorry to have made you cry so long, but I'm getting better..."

"Oh my God, Henry!"

(*)

Years passed, Christopher aged as Henry remained the same in young looks, although his skin showed more evidences of Henry's specialty.

Henry had always been as white as his mother Katarina, but his sensitivity to the sun and lights starting to affect him more and more. He had to cover his skin with long sleeves and pants, and hats. Something was changing in him and his skin getting paler as the time passed.

The last time Christopher had seen his youngest and special son was one day before his death.

The old man was leaving his bedroom in Arthena's house with the help of Lionel and headed to the dark room across the hallway. He knew Henry didn't like to see all those paintings of his mother.

The pale man was sitting at the desk when he saw his father entering the room.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the pale man asked standing up

"I want to talk to you"

Young Lionel left them alone after helping Christopher sit on the bed.

"Listen to me very attentively, I won't be able to repeat it again as Mrs. Death is very close to me"

"You say that everyday and you're still here…"

"But I mean it this time, I can feel it"

"Alright…"

"I know you don't like listening about your mother but you have to. This time you have to! She's still alive, in prison, all alone and only god knows for how long. She won't have anyone else but Lionel to count on as I know she can't count on you for anything. I know you blame her for being the way you are, for being so special…"

"I'm not special, I'm a freak!"

"Call it whatever you want, but…"

"But nothing! She's not the only one in prison, I'm imprisoned too! I can't have a life this way! The sun hurts! If I cut my members off, they get restored! I can't die because this fucking body's regeneration! And it's all her fault! She cursed me!"

"She loves you, she wished for you!"

"I hate her! I'll never forgive her for all she did! You yourself taught us and all the inhabitants that she's evil! Why now are you telling me otherwise?"

"Because I was wrong! I was angry with her"

"She's a murderer! She doesn't deserve mercy!"

"She's your mother"

"She's a witch!"

"Henry…she's having the same fate as you…she's locked in her youth and in that cell…"

"She's not. She wasn't born this way! I told you to cut her neck off, to stab her heart when you had the stupid idea of visiting her so you could be sure she's not like me! She can die! She can get away after all the crap she did, while me? I'm sentenced forever!"

"I'm sorry…" Christopher felt affected by Henry's anger

"Don't say that…"

"I wished you too Henry…You're a part of me too and I never thought things would be this way…"

Despite his anger, his father's tears affected him. He had always been the example to be followed. He had always been his mentor. His best friend. His shelter.

"You don't have to be sorry, you were bewitched…"

"Henry, my son…my dear son…she never wished that for you either…"

"Yet she's the one to blame…If you can forgive her, it's up to you. But me, I don't forgive her at all!"

"You know she could watch out for you when I'm gone…"

"I'll live my way when you're gone…by the way, you know there's still that option for you to prolong your life and continue watching out for me…"

"Son…if that were the order of life, I'd gladly continue living with you…but that's not how things are supposed to be…"

"I know…I'm the exception"

"Son…I'm sure one day you'll meet Mrs. Death too, but I believe that you're special for a reason…"

"It's damnation!"

"Maybe you're special because you're the only one who can protect the Black Herb, or do you want anyone else sharing that fate and suffering as you? You know there are some people that still try to enter the cave to see if the herb is really extinguished…"

"I don't wish that condemnation for anyone but Katarina O'Gregon. She's the one who started it all!"

"You should blame the Walker brothers. They were the ones using it for bad purposes"

"And they got what they deserved! They were killed by their own stupidity!"

Christopher let out a heavy sigh and placed his hand on his chest. It hurt. His son's bitterness hurt him.

Henry was irreducible. He was as stubborn as he himself was. He didn't insist on that subject anymore. He knew his son too well and anticipated what he really wanted to say in a letter he wrote for him, but only at the right time Henry would have access to it.

They continued talking about other things. Christopher Reed was only saying goodbye to his special son.

 **End of Flashback**

Chris was stunned. The figure's eyes were white – was he blind? - and he wore an outfit that covered him from head to toe. He started removing the outfit from his face so Chris could see him. A few details were different, but that white figure staring back at him was so similar to no one else but Henry O'Gregon Reed.

"It can't be…" Chris whispered making the physicals comparisons to the man of his dreams and the portraits he had seen at the museum

"It can't be what?"

"You…"

"It's about time we finally met…It's been a long time…"

"What?"

"Oh, I beg your pardon. I forgot you don't remember…"

"I don't remember what?"

"Never mind…what matters is that we're facing each other after all…" he said moving away from the fireplace and heading to a window

Chris raised his knife again in a defensive position.

"I told you to drop down your knife. I won't hurt you!"

"I don't know you or what you are…"

He gasped with a shrug, "Does it matter when I'm treating you politely?"

"In my job things like you shouldn't exist…in exception of few…"

He grinned, "I agree I shouldn't exist! And that's why I'm glad we finally met. That means my mission is coming to an end at last"

"Mission? What mission? Killing people is your mission?"

He laughed, "It happens… though we have similar jobs…killing happens when lunatics use people as guinea pigs to create freaks like me, but always fail or for not being able to keep them under their control or because of the intromission of people like you…defenders… so you and I are no different about many things"

"So what makes you so different of the lunatic creatures I kill?"

"I'm not a threat, I only defend my territory from bad people who create the lunatic creatures you kill"

"So those men were bad people?"

"In my opinion yes, mostly because of the people behind them!"

"What do you know about it?"

"Oh, now you want my cooperation. I thought you wanted me dead"

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be by now"

He laughed loud, "That's why I called you…"

"You called me?"

"Yes, through Jerry…didn't he give you my message?"

Chris shook his head.

"Oh…so something else brought you here…"

"You brought me here…I saw you the other day watching us…"

"Oh, right! Such a day!" he smiled, "How's the pretty girl doing, I didn't mean to scare her…"

"She's good"

"I felt bad seeing her that way…got me worried…"

"Why do you care? You don't even know her…"

"I'm not a heartless thing…I do care about people! I never meant to hurt nor scare anyone…"

"That's nice of you!" Chris spoke in sarcasm

"You have the right to not believe me…I'd doubt too hearing that from a freak…"

Chris let out a sigh and stared the figure looking outside with a contemplative expression.

"Are you Henry O'Gregon Reed?" Chris broke the silence

A few seconds passed before he answered, "I used to be…"

Chris bit his lips not knowing what else to say. He was confused at some extent. He couldn't figure what he was feeling nor what to think. He wanted so bad to find out the truth about the dead researchers and now the questions escaped him after having the confirmation Henry had killed them.

"I didn't want this meeting to be like this…"

"Why did you want to meet me?"

"Never mind…"

"Never mind? You killed people to get my attention, now you have it!"

"I didn't kill people to get your attention, you're figuring it all wrong!"

"So tell me, why did you kill those people? What do you know about the people behind them?"

"They were researchers who worked for the Fleury's…They want the Black Herb for their evil purposes with bioterrorism"

"How can you be so sure?"

"They're not the first to try it…I heard them talking…"

"You live in a cave! You can't be sure they were after the Black Herb!"

"I told you I heard them! My senses and sensitivity are highly advanced and the echo of the cave prolong the sounds. I heard and saw you at the cave with your friend too"

"Yeah I saw the cameras…"

"I don't need it…They're just useful when I'm not there"

"Like now…"

"Like from now on…"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I can't go back to the cave anymore. I made the mistake of being seen…It's just a matter of time until a new expedition is sent there"

"So you came to hide in my land?"

He laughed, "Technically this is my land…by blood merit…"

"You want it so keep it"

"Technically I'm dead too after nearly 3 centuries…I mean…Henry O'Gregon Reed…"

"Well, one thing is for sure…I will not keep this land…"

"I know it looks bad, but that's the intention…but you'd be making a mistake to give it to the government…this land needs to remain private!"

"Okay, so I donate it to you. It doesn't have any value after all…I get you a fake name and that's it"

"No value? There is an emerald mine under this ground! Do you see that well? That's the entrance for it! This is the biggest secret of the family! We were always very secretive about it! Plus, the mine has a secret passage that leads to my cave, very at the bottom of it where no one but me and Lionel had access in all these years!"

Chris made a face, "What?"

"That's why you can't get rid of this land! Do you see that mountain complex where there used to be a waterfall? It's part of the group of those large mountains that keep the site to the Forbidden Cave! This is the back of the site! Many centuries ago, there used to have a river there, so cave was safe! But over the time they kings changed the route of the river and so now all that site and this land got dry…and unfortunately the cave got exposed as well"

Chris was still surprised, "I didn't know that…"

"Didn't you see the old map? Lionel told me he gave it to you…"

"I saw a map, but…I didn't pay much attention to it…"

Henry shook his head in disbelief. If his eyes could be seen, certainly they'd show him rolling his eyes, "This is how I walk around… I can't get much exposed to sunlight just like the Black Herb! I use the secret passage underground…That's why Lionel gave you this land and the responsibility to watch the Forbidden Cave site…they're all connected!"

Chris was stunned. Emerald mine, Forbidden Cave and Henry's hideout…that was too much for him to cope at once. Now he understood Jerry's comment about the land.

Their conversation was interrupted by the radio beep. Jerry informed Chris that he and Piers had been requested for a mission.

Chris looked at Henry who stared him back, "I have to go…"

"I heard"

"I'll return to continue talking to you…"

"You don't have to…you won't keep the land…" he spoke with a shrug

"I will keep the land!"

"Just because I told you about the emerald mine?"

"No…For your safety"

"My safety? I'm a freak that shouldn't exist…"

"Honestly? Strangely you're not a freak for me…I've seen special people like you…and some of them are my friends, like family…"

"Special…Family…" he whispered touched by those words

"I can see you have a lot to tell me Henry and I surely want to listen to you. I want to know more about the Fleury's and all you can tell me about such things…If they saw you, they won't come just after the Black Herb, they will come primarily after you! Like Lionel, I can see you're not a real threat. You're not as kind as Lionel was, but something tells me you're cool…"

Henry smiled in distress. He was trying to keep his emotions under control. He didn't want to break down in front of "that man"…The man who didn't remember that once upon a time they were father and son, and accomplices to cover Henry's specialness.

"Take care Henry and let me know if you find, learn or see anything out of the usual"

"I will…Be safe…Chris…"

Henry watched Chris disappear from across the trees making his way back to join Piers. Tears cored his face. It was hard not being able to call him dad. Despite the initial divergences, they ended up coming to good terms. He smiled at the two lights guarding Chris without him being even aware of it. He certainly recognized them.

Chris and Piers returned quickly to the hotel. Their stay in Bohma was over for the meantime.

Chris found Kate crying in the room and all the luggage ready. More than him she wanted to return home.

* * *

 **Thank you McTamale** **for the review! :D**

 **Only two more chapters!**

 **Stay tuned!**


	74. Downpour

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

 **Arthena, Old Cottage, Christopher's Land**

Henry stood at the door of the shack looking at the surrounding nature as he recalled the meeting with the "old father". Certainly Chris Redfield was someone other than the Christopher he met centuries ago. For an unexpected encounter things went as well as possible. A forgotten father did not mean that he was not present in any way, after all, at the end of the conversation Chris demonstrated to care for the safety of the "creature" before him, even after learning of all the things that had happened about the mysterious deaths at over time.

And it was interesting as Chris Redfield despite the work he had in killing creatures, he also seemed to "care" about it. Perhaps deep down he still believed there was some humanity in them and maybe even some way of reversing the process of transformation.

"You're cool ..." he chuckled, remembering the soldier's words

It was strange to hear that. For all the paternal zeal Christopher had, he was not much to praise with words. Some things had really changed in that spirit. But as always the attitudes always spoke louder for him, and the proof that this characteristic was still strong in him were the words spoken at the end of the conversation. He would keep the property - even though he said he would not. And even after Henry had hinted that the change of mind was due to the emeralds in the undergrounds, he knew that his father never really cared about money. Henry knew that the change of decision was by protective instinct.

Henry heard at a long distance someone approaching the gate, and with a special look he saw Jerry, and waited.

"How was the meeting with him?"

"It wasn't like I imagined in my script, I wish I had said a few things, but it was better this way, after all he doesn't remember who he was in the past"

"Even though he did not remember, the conversation made him change his mind about staying with the property..."

"That was one of the best parts... it shows that he wants to know me better..."

"Or perhaps in the background "he" misses the son that one day you were... Mr. Lionel said that the spirit recognizes energy even after physical change"

"Maybe that's related... but what really matters to me is that I've been able to see him after so long, and despite being in a new body, he still bears a resemblance to the old body, only more robust and a bit more tanned"

"True. I also noticed that"

"But you know what makes me happier about this encounter?"

"What?"

"See him in good health!"

Jerry smiled.

"I am very happy to see him so healthy and vigorous. In the past he had physical strength as well, but he had a slightly more fragile health, and now he has almost an unshakeable health, even more for being in his current age. He still fights on the field; he doesn't seem to age so much physically and has incredible stamina even without Black Herb's help!"

"How nice he overcame successfully to the fragile health challenge!"

"Yes! I cannot say the same about my mother instead... And it's a pity I didn't get to see her up close. To touch her... And to apologize for being a bad son... And maybe I might could have healed her... and so my siblings who always accompany them could come faster..."

"What? Your siblings accompany them?"

"Some of them want to be born their children again... I've seen two of them... but the blockage in my mother's chakra will hinder their development and may delay their birth... Even my father giving all the physical help that he can for her gestation, after all, he has this debit with her, but even so she will still need extra help and I can do it... I owe it to her, because one day she gave me life and after understanding what I have come to do in this life, I feel it is my duty to reciprocate it in the same way and to help them maintain the destination they came to fulfill together"

"I see... and is there any prediction of when they will be conceived?"

"Very soon!"

"And which one did you see accompanying them?"

"Christian and Mel..."

"Christian?" Jerry said in surprise

"Yes! I was happy for him and at the same time envious..."

"Envy? Why?"

"Because it may happen that he comes as the twin brother of my Mel... "

"Oh ..."

"I know he's cool, but I've gotten used to being her twin brother... but I understand that she feels the same as me for not being a good daughter and for believing daddy's ugly words about mom...we were the youngest and easily influenced... Not to mention that dad also made it very difficult to visit her in prison..."

"Mr. Lionel told me that part... what your father did to punish her was not cool at all..."

"He was blind in disappointment and resentment... But what matters now is that he is fixing this and does everything to help my mother... He owes it to her and even unconsciously he knows it..."

"What about her? From what I've learned, she's very committed to changing herself and repairing past mistakes..."

"But she still hides something that might make them lose that opportunity again if the disappointed Christopher gets hit again... And only after the Wheel of Life will spin again..."

"So I hope they overcome this challenge as well"

"Yes, I also hope too... and it is this hindrance that postpones the return of my siblings."

"I understand. And they will come in the same gestation?"

"I don't know... As I told you, my mother has a serious block on her uterus and she will need all the assistance"

"Is it that serious?"

Henry nodded in affirmation, "She can die for it ... I mean... they..."

"Oh damn..."

"My mother more than ever will need all of my father's forgiveness and all his love... She has blood on her hands and relentless enemies from the past around her... More than ever she will need redemption to receive the merit of life and come true her biggest dreams... for as there was also a schedule that she could only live one of the dreams and she is already living it..."

"The great love dream..."

"Yes..."

"And for the greatest dream of being a mother, she needs to redeem herself from the crimes she committed in the past and the failures she committed in this life, so that she could receive the merit of living after breeding my siblings... It will be a great spiritual battle for her and only the strength of Katarina will not be enough..."

"She's going to need the strength of your father too..."

He nodded again, "She will need me too..."

"So for that you will need to be near them..."

"Yes, and this will be my biggest challenge with this physical limitation... It may be the last thing I do in life... but on the other hand I can have my freedom after completing my mission..."

"I thought your mission was to take care of the Black Herb"

"Yes, this is also part of it ... but my father before he died asked me for something that I denied myself at the time because I was blinded by anger at my physical condition... but now that the anger has passed, I want to comply his desire and take care of my mother... of my siblings... they will need it! Today I realize that I didn't wait unnecessarily... And it was thanks to Lionel that I could perceive this and I will be eternally grateful for all that he has done for us... Our angel..."

"I believe that in this great challenge Mr. Lionel will also guide you"

"He's done enough for us..."

* * *

 **Hanover - New Hampshire, Medical Center**

"Lucy... where is she?" Kate asked entering hurriedly the hospital reception

"She's in the bedroom sleeping. The surgery was a success."

"Surgery? Was it that bad?"

"She broke one leg because of the run-in"

"Oh my God..."

"But the worst is not this..."

"What else is worse?"

"Witnesses say it was not accidental..."

"Oh god, how can someone run over like that?"

"The police are investigating the case..."

"What about Vlad? Where is he?"

"He left. He didn't say where he was going to"

"As the usual my brother's the worthless idiot as always... When I read his message I thought she was dead..."

"Now that you know she's out of danger, are you going back to New York?"

"No..."

"No?"

Kate shook her head in denial, "I want to see her..."

"I can't believing you're saying this"

"Me neither..."

"You're finally putting the stubbornness aside..."

"I've been reflecting on the things you said and so many other things too... It's not easy, but it has to be done..."

"Did you tell Chris you're here?"

"No... he doesn't know. He went on a mission and I took the gap to come..."

"So you won't tell him?"

"I intend to... but it will depend on the conversation... and I don't know if now would be the moment of this conversation... with her..."

"I agree, but I'm glad you took this first step to the reunion"

"Yeah..."

"You're failing to be stubborn... it seems Chris's stubbornness diminished yours" she said jokingly

"It was not his stubbornness, but his love..."

"I know, I was only kidding about the stubbornness..."

"But what you say is true, everyone who knows me tells me how I changed after him... But I tell you that my change also happened due to the diaries of Katarina. Her lessons made me think about a lot and the conversations with Mr. Lionel were very enlightening too"

"I'm glad you're a better version of her..."

Kate laughed, "I try to be, but not a better version of her, but a better version of myself"

"Do you still believe to be her reincarnation?"

"It's not that ... but I'm talking about a better version of me myself... I made a lot of mistakes in adolescence, especially after I got involved with Douglas... you have no idea of how much I regret having been so stupid to have believed in his lies!"

"You were young, impulsive and full of anger and rancor... he took advantage of that"

"Yeah, and I bore the brunt of that bad choice and his blackmail for 6 years!"

"But fortunately you broke it!"

"Yes it's true"

"And Dennis, is he still blackmailing you?"

"No, he stopped. He knows I know something against him and that he doesn't want his family to know about. It would be a scandal to their traditional family, especially to his wife..."

"Oh I know. He's gay and you have proof of that."

"Exactly! And he's scared to death for me to throw this on the fan!"

"I see..."

"But changing the subject, I know you took responsibility for my mother's medical expenses. I'm very grateful to always count on you, but I'll pay you back everything, okay! When I get the money Mr. Lionel left for me..."

"No way! You know you don't have to pay me anything"

"But I want to! You cannot always take responsibility for my things."

A doctor interrupted them and called them for a conversation.

"Mrs. Von Göbel has already been examined again and everything is going well. In a few days she should be discharged and continue treatment at home"

The girls sighed in relief.

"Is she awake?" Kate asked

"Yes. She's in the apartment"

"Can she get visitors?" Lucy asked

"Sure!"

The doctor informed the room and left for another appointment.

"You'd better see her first" Lucy suggested

"What? Me? You'd better go first. I'm afraid she'll fall sick with my sudden presence..."

"Don't be a chicken! You came here for this!"

"I know, but is better you talking to her first, and then you tell me if she'll want to see me or not..."

"You already know that's what she wants the most!"

"I'm afraid she has changed her mind..."

"Stop Kate from making up excuses! Get in that room and give Mrs. Olga a long hug!"

Kate was still reluctant. The memories of when she was 18 hit her with full force. How much regret. Damn words. Bad words spoken. Unbridled pulses. Inconsequence of youth. The weight of the damn words she still carried after so many years. A secret that covered up an even bigger one. A shame without size. A trauma.

Still with a mix of feelings she walked towards the door of room 301.

She glanced back at Lucy once more, and again Lucy made a gesture of encouragement to her. After taking a deep breath a few times, she walked carefully into the room and saw the 55-year-old lady lying in bed with her eyes closed and the television on.

Kate's heart almost seemed to come out of her mouth at any moment, her hands were cold and trembling. Maybe she should back away, but she doubted she could pass by 'Lucy the guard' who was waiting for her in the hallway.

Kate watched the woman resting. 5 years had made a difference in the woman's countenance. She looked a little older. The lines of expression were a little more pronounced. Her blond hair was grayer. But the haircut was still the same. Shoulder level. Wavy.

 _I been walking around  
Inside a haze  
Between the lines of reason  
Hiding from the ghost  
Of yesterday  
Feels like I'm barely breathing_

 _I wanna feel the rain again  
I wanna feel the water on my skin  
And let it all just wash away  
In a downpour  
I wanna feel the rain_

 _I've been losing days  
The shades pulled down  
I still can't face the sun_

 _But I'm going crazy  
I can't stay here  
I've gone completely numb  
I just wanna need someone  
I wanna feel the rain again  
I wanna feel the water on my skin  
And let it all just wash away  
In a downpour  
I wanna feel the rain (Downpour - Backstreet Boys)_

"Kat..." the woman whispered after opening her eyes and could barely speak at the sight of the young woman looking at her apprehensively

Kate was shaking, and her stomach was bubbling with nervousness. Her legs could barely stand up, but she did not want to demonstrate to be so shaken.

"Kate... is it really you?"

"I believe I am myself..." the young woman answered in confusion

"Oh my daughter! My prayers were answered! My God, thank you so much for bringing my beloved daughter back!" the woman cried in tears after not seeing her daughter for five long years

Kate didn't know how to react. There were many feelings hitting each other. Relief, confusion, surprise, fear. That woman was grateful even after being reneged through a lie told repeatedly. That woman knew very well that she had been given as dead by the young brunette's acidic tongue, and yet she seemed to have passed an eraser in the last five years living under a lie.

"How can you be grateful for me being here and at such a moment like this?"

"Because you are my little girl... this incident was the way of Life giving me a second chance with you..."

"There was no need to have this incident..." Kate looked at the floor

"But it made you hurry up."

Kate swallowed and cleared her throat, "What matters is that now you are under medical care and you will be fine... as far as possible"

"Now I know I'll definitely be fine"

Kate nibbled her lips still looking at the floor. If she had ever rehearsed what to say at the moment, the whole rehearsal had been in vain. Words were gone.

"I separated from your father..."

It was the mother who broke the ice, noticing her daughter's shyness.

Kate looked surprised at the lady in bed, but not as happy as she would have liked to hear such a declaration. Maybe that attitude had come too late.

"Separated? Vlad said he still lives with you"

"He did. After the separation he stayed living with us for a while, but it's been a couple of weeks that he left in definitive"

"I didn't know that part... I have not spoken to Vlad for over a month"

"I know you never got on well"

"And we never will..."

"Don't talk like that... he's been helping us a lot since he got a job"

"Vlad got a job? In what?"

"Freelancer"

Kate laughed, rolling her eyes, "It's a lie!"

"Since you went away he has helped us with the expenses"

"With the money I always gave him! He's a liar and a blackmailer, not an honest hard worker!"

"You gave him money all this time?"

"Yeah... even though I didn't have the guts to show up, I was never able to cut the bonds completely and somehow I gave this assistance and the amount I could... until Vlad started to cross the limits..."

"I see… I didn't know Vlad had contact with you, only Lucy..."

"It proves you don't know anything about him..." Kate shrugged

"Yeah, apparently, I don't know anything at all... but tell me, how's your life now? Are you still with..."

"No! I got rid of the idiot Douglas about six months ago..."

"I'm glad to hear that"

"And me too"

"I'm glad you saw who he really is..."

"I never liked him, but I was stupid to believe in some things... but now it's over and that's what matters!"

"True... so do you live in New York?"

"Yes I do, with my fiancé"

"Fiancé?"

"Yes. We'll get married next month"

The lady looked thoughtful. It had been a while since her daughter had broken up with the disgusting Douglas and now was about to marry someone else so fast, "How long have you been together?"

Kate laughed, "We've known each other since I started working at BSAA, but we've been living together for about 5 months, but dating officially for about two months"

The mother made a face.

"I know it's confusing... it's a long story! What matters is that we are happy and he is the man of my dreams! He's the complete opposite of the disgusting idiot. Chris is a very honorable, respectful, understanding man with a huge heart! And it is mainly thanks to him that I was determined to come and speak with you…"

"Does he know we are alive?"

Kate cleared her throat, "No, not yet... but I'll tell him... it's just that I wanted to talk to you first and see how things would get between us and then I'd tell him everything, because he deserves me to be transparent with him"

"I see"

"His love has changed me and he does me so good! I've never been so happy in my life!"

The mother smiled, "It's good to hear that you're happy and I hope Chris is as understanding as you say when he knows the truth"

"He might get upset on the moment, but then it will pass."

After passing through the initial distance, at the end of the visit, mother and daughter reconciled with a long and affecting hug.

* * *

 **BSAA Headquarters**

Chris had returned from the mission and was on his way to his office when he noticed a blond man sitting on the couch in the foyer. He kept walking until he found his secretary and greeted her.

"Any news to me?" He asked

"No, but that gentleman sitting on the sofa was waiting for you"

"Who is he?"

"He introduced himself as Vlad, he said he's your brother-in-law..."

Chris made a face.

"Is not he your brother-in-law?"

"I know Kate has a brother named Vlad, but I've never met him... until now..."

"I see... Are you going to talk to him?"

"Yes, I'll wait in the office"

* * *

 **Chris's Apartment, Evening**

Chris was upset at everything Vlad had said. Kate had lied all this time, in addition to denying her parents. What kind of person lies about the death of a relative this way?

Kate was dirty. He could not believe how blind he had been. She deceived him perfectly. She was a manipulator and a calculator. She was the lover of a man like Douglas Fleury and there were "hints" that she acted as a spy for him. Now her interest in the BSAA made sense and she became involved with him and Piers. She had only used them to get information and more recently information was about the Black Herb.

Damn her!

Everyone tried to warn him, but he seemed to be deaf.

Traitor!

He took out a cigarette pack. He smoked when he was nervous or tense. He then went to the mini bar and started drinking.

(*)

It was late at night when Kate returned to New York. She was more relieved after reconciling with her mother. After a long conversation, they both preferred to leave the wounds in the past and start over again. It was certainly a good peace deal. It was undeniable that they both missed each other.

Now all that was missing was the last part, and probably the hardest part: to tell Chris the truth.

She opened the door to the apartment and then smelled the cigarette scent in the air. Something had happened, since Chris was not a regular smoker.

She turned on the lights and was startled by the figure of Chris sitting on the couch staring at her with a look she had never seen before. She felt a cold spine and closed the door.

"What happened?" She asked, showing concern

"Where were you?" He asked coldly

"With Lucy..."

"I did not ask who, I asked where!" He almost shouted

She swallowed, "We were in the hospital"

"What hospital?"

"Wow, why so many questions..."

"I want to know where you were exactly, Katerina! Or are you just trying to get time to make up any more lies for me? And if that's your intention, I'll let you know you will not make it this time!"

"Why are you talking to me like that?"

"Damn you!"

She began to tremble.

"You're a curse in my life! But now I already know who you are... damn whore!"

"What ..." she was affected by his words

"I did everything for you... I fought for you... I was always honest with you... Such an idiot I was for always believing in your words... all lies! But your game is over and now I know what you are... despicable!"

Tears cored down her face. She was simply powerless in the face of all those offenses coming from the man she loved.

"Stop crying! I don't believe in your crocodile tears anymore!" He shouted

The impact from his scream somehow made her kneel on the floor. Trembling. Defeated.

That was not a part of Christian. It was a part of Christopher...

Katerina was paralyzed by the man's fury. She had failed to prove her love for him. Had she failed to show that she was redeeming herself from the mistakes of the past?

He stood up from the couch and stood before her, "Looking for redemption, Kat*rina?"

It was inaudible if he had called her Katerina or Katarina. Regardless of the name, the young woman on the ground was paralyzed. What had aroused his fury that way?

"Now I understand why you cannot stand Vlad... He's more sincere than you. He told me the whole truth"

"Vlad..." she whispered.

Of course! She could not be surprised. She knew very well that he was not a person with many scruples and seemed to take pleasure in hurting her, to see her suffer.

Now she understood it.

Now she could face the fury of that man standing before her.

Like a fearless sovereign coming into action, she looked up and stared back at him.

Two legends. One truth. Lovers who had been everything in so many centuries, from friends to enemies. There was a cycle to come to an end. And just one truth to be revealed.

Firmly and elegantly, it was not Katerina who stood up. It was Katarina.

Finally the couple in black had met after centuries.

"Since you became Vlad's best friend and you know the 'truth', then why are you questioning me?" she asked imposingly

"I want to hear from your mouth"

"You will not like what I'm going to say"

"From you I expect everything"

"But the truth..."

"And do you know how to be sincere?"

"Of course! But I was foolish to think that you had realized that I am sincere..."

"You deceived me. You used me. What did I do to deserve this?"

"What are you talking about exactly?" Katerina started to take control again

"Wanting to get time again?" He replied with a smirk

"Look... I'm not a guesser and I don't know what lies Vlad told you, but the truth is I did not lie only to you, but to everyone about the death of my parents... and I was going to tell you..."

He laughed scornfully, "Oh, you were going to tell me?"

"Yes. You really were very sincere with me and I was wrong not to have told you before... and that was my intention after this quick trip I made to Hanover. I didn't believe in Vlad's message, but I believed in Lucy when she informed me that someone had run over my mother and she was in the hospital. Thank God it was not as bad as I imagined, but it was what rushed me to finally deal with my mistake... but I think even for you it's hard to admit that you missed something and going back is not that easy..."

"You said your parents were dead! You made me believe that you were like me, you made me shelter you in my house soon after the end of my engagement to Cathy because I believed you had nowhere to go! You took advantage of me!"

"I didn't force you to this and it was not a lie that I had nowhere to go except hostels that you yourself went against the idea... now you want to throw in my face your attitude?"

"You lied to me!"

"Oh and you never lied to anyone?"

"At least my lies never hurt anyone!"

"As far as you know, huh?"

"You're Douglas Fleury's lover! And you provide him information that you obtain from the BSAA"

"What? Was that what the idiot told you?"

"Is it a lie? Are these pictures a lie?" He showed her old photos of her with the old man

She swallowed in nervousness, it was a bitter sight, "I'm not denying that I was his lover, but this story of being an informant is a grotesque lie! I cannot believe you were able to believe it!"

"But you lied when you denied knowing him and his son!"

"I just didn't want to remember the big mistake of getting myself involved with that disgusting old man"

"Oh, a gentle lie!"

"I had no obligation to tell you who I was involved with, just as I never questioned you about your past"

"At least I've never lied about my past!"

"Do you want a trophy for that?"

"What?"

"You boast for being very sincere, but you sin in not understanding what should be understood... there are things that people don't tell because they simply don't want to or don't want to remember the pain…"

"It should hurt more the pain of lie... Even more about your parents"

"You judge me based on your experience, you don't see what you should see... my side!"

"Will it change the fact that you're a liar?"

"Not. It doesn't justify a lie, but it is not because I'm unscrupulous as you 'trustworthy' source"

"Then why did you lie to me? Right to me?"

"Because when I invented this lie I was angry, with hatred, with everything bad."

"Because your parents were against your ridiculous relationship with the old man"

"No! Because I wanted to escape from that house of horrors! I wanted to stop being mistreated and abused by my own father! That monster! I wanted to get away from that disgusting reality, because it was me alone against them. My 'lovable' brother was passive with what was happening to me and my mother was silent for fear of retaliation. So when I was seventeen I met Douglas and at first I admit that I was dazzled by everything he could offer me because he proved to be the exact opposite of what he is. I had just discovered that I could not have children and believed that he really wanted to help me, I believed that because he worked in the health care business he would help me with the treatment so that I could fulfill my dream. But I was dumb! Very dumb! He never wanted to help me, he just used me, made me his sexual slave and took all my freedom for a long time. I left one penance and fell into another. And instead of challenging him since it would be useless to buy a fight with a powerful man like him, I had to coldly plan my escape... it took longer than I expected, especially for having my stupid brother to upset my plans because for him, only money matters and he expected me to get money from Douglas for him! He didn't want to work and help at home... and even me away from them and after having invented the lie, I continued giving them financial support without their knowledge. I would give money to Vlad and pray that he would really use it at home, as my pride was still bigger and prevented me from going back in my decision... and gradually I built my escape, I submitted to Douglas's wishes to ease him and get permission to do some things I wanted such as to study and work... getting to college was a big effort, but getting a job was an achievement! The BSAA was a watershed in my life. It freed me from Douglas and brought you to me..."

"You lied to Piers too!"

"He was never such a serious affair and you know that... at least that's what I believed most of the time. And he never asked me about my past either... while with you... everything was different. I never thought I would fall in love with you, I never believed I would meet a really good man who would really help me without using me, and as I got to know you better, the more I was in conflict. You so sincere and with the pain of having lost your good parents... and I carrying the weight of my lie for not having a good family... I didn't lie about it to you for being evil... but since everyone knew me for not having parents, so I ended up keeping this version for you as well..."

Long silence.

A lie destroys a relationship for purely breaking the trust.

"I don't know if I can believe you anymore... I'm sorry you were abused by someone who should protect you... but after everything we went through I thought I had shown you that you could trust me"

"But I trust you"

"You didn't trust me, and I don't know if I can trust you after so many things that we've been through. You turned my world inside out and now I feel I've lived an illusion..."

"Then we have a problem of trust..."

"Yes, and this is a fundamental pillar of every relationship..."

"So..." she left the sentence in hang and headed to their bedroom

Chris remained in the living room, swallowing one cigarette after the other as he drank straight from the bottle, listening to Kate's distant cry echoing down the hall.

After a while he heard a roaring noise in the hallway and saw Kate pulling on the suitcase she had brought when she moved into his house. Just that suitcase.

With the little pride she still had, she passed him without looking at him and briefly crouched near the coffee table to leave the engagement ring before leaving the door and leaving it unlocked, as she had not taken the keys with her.

Chris just watched Kate's goodbye from his life. She took with her only what she already had before they got together, but also carried the memories of those beautiful 6 months of daily living.

Chris would swallow one cigarette after another. One bottle after the other as he stared at the small shiny object on the coffee table.

Part of him had also stepped out the door, along with Kate.

And in the quiet apartment were only the memories of a broken man and a desolated heart.

The night was not cold, but a chill breeze passed through the skin of drunk Chris.

"Once again you failed..."

Chris heard a feminine voice and looked at the kitchen and saw a young-looking woman, "You two really are very proud and stubborn!"

"I saw you at Mr. Lionel's funeral, but I didn't give you permission to enter my house just because the door is unlocked"

"I don't need an unlocked door to enter or any human's permission to give my message"

"I'm not in the mood"

"Trust is imperative in a relationship. He, who has no confidence in others, cannot also ask they trust him. Sometimes the other person may not be deserving of trust, other times it may be you. You will never have a real relationship if you don't learn to trust.

Have you ever stopped to think about how your partner feels if you don't trust her? Whatever has happened in your past must be left behind, it is not fair to pay for the error of another. You don't want to get hurt in the future because someone from your past was stupid enough to betray you, right?

Wanting proof that the other is trustworthy is not feasible. The problem is that the more effort required, the less natural attitudes.

Trusting is inexplicable, intuitive, not something that can be given or charged to someone. Trust is an act of faith, and this dispenses reasoning."

"She lies and I'm the problematic?"

"You two are problematic in my opinion... that's why you work"

He smirked, "It's over"

"The game is not over until it's over"

He swallowed another cigarette.

"She will need you and you will need her... but for this you have to forgive each other. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. And only those that don't see the truth are those who don't want to see it..."

Chris frowned. Or he was too drunk to understand what that woman was saying, but he really could not understand her words. Then he looked at the coffee table and the two flash drives were next to the engagement ring. He blinked in confusion. He certainly must have been too drunk!

He began to feel torpor as the mysterious woman disappeared.

 **Flashback**

 **Arthena's House**

Old Christopher sat on the edge of the bed looking at erotic painting of his and Katarina's and remembered clearly the day it was painted. Love, passion and sex had no distinction in their relationship.

He smiled slightly. Still it was strange to believe that he had the courage to allow himself to be painted while loving Katarina.

At that moment young Lionel entered the room and noticed old Christopher admiring the painting that was controversial for the time.

"Impulses of youth... only Katarina had this gift of making me do things that my mind never thought I would..." he commented looking at the painting

"It is still a beautiful painting extolling the crudest form of the love of a couple in love..."

"While you see poetry, most people see only madness"

"What difference does the opinion of others make? Even more about an intimacy that has nothing to do with them?"

"Sovereigns must follow a strict label... but she and I have never been able to follow the traditional labels so precisely..."

"Traditions should not be stony, but flexible enough to have harmony..."

"You talk very hard sometimes Lionel... it even reminds me of the old seer who appeared to me a few times" Christopher commented laughing

Lionel smiled slightly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Thank you for breaking a label and coming to see this old man in front of you, since you are a prince and people address to you..."

"It is not the prince who is here, but your great-grandson. This is the family hierarchy..."

Christopher laughed, "You have an answer for everything... just like your great-grandmother from the painting..."

"It's amazing what a reconciliation visit was able to do..."

"We didn't reconcile"

"But you could coexist in the same place... It is already an advance"

Christopher nodded, "But soon my coexistence will end and that's why I called you to this conversation"

"I'm all ears"

Christopher took a deep breath and looked at the picture, "I can only entrust this mission to you, son... only to you…"

"I will carry out this mission with pleasure, Granny. You can say it"

"Take good care of my Katarina... she's so alone in that cell... Kat always had horror of loneliness. No one else likes her, the people she helped so much turned their backs on her and I contributed with it, but for this very reason, now I want to be able to do one last good thing for her... Henry is irreducible and you will someday become a king and you can decide her future if she's alive by then. But I ask you, if you can free her, free her. She is no longer a threat... she has never been a threat... I was..."

"You were never a threat. Nor her..."

"But that's not how people see her"

"It will be up to her to decide this point of view... but as far as I know it, it doesn't matter what they say about her anymore"

"Oh no, she cares, she so cares! Katarina always liked the attention of people..."

"It was not what she said"

"But it's not what she says, but what she thinks, what she feels... don't be fooled by the mask of her label... she was well trained to be a liar..." he laughed, "I mean sympathetic and diplomatic!"

"And you know her well to know what she feels and what she truly thinks"

Christopher shrugged, "I believe that a few decades of coexistence may have taught me something about her and deciphered her smiles... her denials..."

"I'll take that into account... thanks for the tip."

"I thank you for being the only one to hear her, to be with her... while I left her..."

"You still have the chance..."

Christopher laughed, "I don't even know if I'm going to be breathing tomorrow! You know that sickness consumes me and it is not forgiveness that will save me now..."

"But it can save in the future when you meet again..."

"This will take long to happen..."

"But it will happen"

"I'm not so sure I'll have this merit... I screwed up..."

"If you already recognize your mistake, it is already a beginning of merit"

Christopher took a deep breath, "I'll leave it to chance, what matters now is that Katarina is well cared and doesn't stay so alone... If you can give her a little more comfort, that bed is too hard"

"I'll arrange what I can"

"Thank you, Lionel"

"No need to thank me. I know that even when you were at your worst you still did care about her and used your influence to let her stay with her most cherished trunk..."

"It was the least I could do..."

Lionel smiled slightly, "Chris, can I ask you something"

"Sure"

"Do not you feel like reading the letters she wrote to you in prison?"

"Not really"

"Why not?"

"Because I already know what is written in it... if I know her well, she cries out for my forgiveness and admits that she has screwed up too... And so I have another mission for you"

"You can say it"

Christopher stood up with difficulty and walked over to the nightstand, "Deliver this letter to your father..."

"I will deliver for sure..."

"Now take me to Henry... I need to say one last thing to him and then please take me home..."

(*)

Christopher walked slowly heading to the barn after leaving the Lake House.

The house reminded him of Angelique. The barn, Katarina.

And it was there that he decided to spend the last moments of his life. He knew it would be over that day.

It had been some time since he had asked Henry and Lionel to arrange a bed for him to sleep in the barn. They ended up providing him more comfortable besides the bed, they provided lights, an armchair, and a desk as well. The place had become Christopher's main room in the last two years.

Usually they left the doors open and so Christopher could see the lake from the comfort of the barn while he was lost in his memories.

And it was precisely in those last moments that old Christopher had written his Final Letter.

He died asking for redemption and for a second encounter he could never have with Katarina.

He wrote the famous letter but forgot to let instructions that it was to be delivered to Katarina and so Lionel had to decide whether to deliver the letter to her or not, after all, Lionel was his successor and who was instructed to continue that mission.

Lionel knew they both wanted to meet again to finally open up their hearts to each other.

It didn't happen. So Lionel felt he should make the meeting happen somehow and so he decided to hand the letter over to Katarina and so he started to ingest the Black Pills. He took on an extra mission and stretched his own life for it, as well as being able to protect Henry more closely.

Lionel was always different and for accompanying those souls for so long, he really wanted to believe in their surrenders so that the cycle of pain finally would end and the love triumph.

Christopher's body collapsed in the barn and unlike what the population believed and even he came to believe for many years of his life, after the physical death he didn't meet again with Angelique, but his spirit remained there in the barn waiting for the desired meeting.

Of course he received some visits from his departed loved ones, as well as from Angelique.

"So your choice is her?"

"I messed with her, I need to redeem myself with her"

"You know she's going to take long, don't you?"

"I will wait forever if I need to"

And the wait was finally over, or at least partially over.

Katarina had finally "accepted" the freedom that had been granted her many years to get out of the prison, but she preferred to stay where she had last seen Christopher.

Invisible to her physical eyes, Christopher watched Katarina enter the land. Old, vulnerable and apathetic. She wore an old black dress and there was no longer the sparkle she had in her youth or when she was Katherine.

Katarina was defeated and eagerly awaiting her death.

Every day she read his letters and spent the day at her favorite place, the barn!

It was as if her spirit could feel Christopher's energy in there and on several occasions he tried to get noticed by her and hit the wood - the famous crackling.

But it was only in the last days of life that Katarina finally got to see the spirit of her beloved.

"Christopher..."

"Kat..."

"Is it really you?"

"I think so I am me..." he teased

She fell kneeling right in the center of the place.

"Are you looking for redemption Katarina?"

"Yes!"

"Me too..."

"Is it true what you wrote?"

"If it was not, do you think I'd be here all this time?"

"I thought you hated me..."

"I hate myself... not you..."

"I cannot believe..."

"You don't trust me?"

"I do not trust myself..."

"Then we have a problem of trust..."

"And how do we figure this out?"

"With pardon and one more encounter"

"I am not ready for this encounter... look at me... I am devastated"

"So am I..."

"We failed..."

"Yes... we failed..."

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

 **Thank you McTamale** **for the review! And thank you Kadence0622 for favoriting the story :D**


	75. Christopher's Final Letter

**The characters from the game belong to Capcom.** ** **The OC's and story background belong to me**. **  
**Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. **Any resemblance** to actual **persons** , **living or dead** , or actual events is **purely coincidental**.**

 **A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.**

* * *

One autumn day and here I am in my last breath. The Mrs. Death finally came to welcome me.

This lake have been more beautiful once upon a time. This lake was once the promised land of dreams and vows of love. This lake carried to the eternal river souls who loved each other.

The river that unites. The river that separates.

Its waters break in that lake where the souls of young lovers lie in eternal sleep.

Lie beyond life. Lie beyond death. Lie beyond time.

It is a beauty that tricks like the famous Pandora's box.

I opened the Pandora's box. And I was warned not to do it several times.

Then I look at the lake from within this barn as I cherish the icy breeze of fate that awaits me.

There is beauty in death.

Fifty years ago there was a young man floating in the waters of that beautiful lake and a beautiful redhead girl rescued him from the water.

The waters of the beginning.

I no longer recognize that young man in his 21. A brave young man full of dreams, full of hope, full of promises... which he never fulfilled.

I can clearly see the reunion of two related souls, but I can also see something beyond.

The man in black.

If I could go back in time knowing what I know today, I would not have jumped in the icy waters of the river, for that act of courage and despair has become my greatest act of cowardice.

Not for trying to save my life that had already been buried along with little Christian, but for destroying so many lives later.

The 21-year-old boy did not know what to expect and did not know how many sacrifices he had yet to make.

One day a wise old woman appeared and said to him: "The more important than the future, is the present. People should be more concerned in seeing the present than the future and in the right time, you will also need to see the present. You will need to see the truth in each person around you and your biggest disbelief will be on yourself"

So wise!

That boy did not understand anything that "crazy woman" had told him.

And she even said more: "A woman... a woman in your life... She will swear love to you, but will bring the hate. She will talk about peace, but she will bring the discord. She will celebrate the life, but will bring the death."

That seer never said she was just a woman who would possess all these characteristics and she also said that only I would be able to know which woman would possess such characteristics.

50 years later, already an old man, that boy finally understood those words.

It's always been two women.

A woman!

A woman...

Today the boy of 71 years understood that pause and change of intonation.

Hard to believe that that sweet redhead girl rescuing the boy in black would be the woman who would bring death, even though she celebrated life.

But it was never exactly about physical death, but the death of that boy.

The death of a beautiful dream of family and love. The death of a hope for a future that never came.

Hard to believe that sweet redhead girl would bring the discord despite all efforts for peace!

And while the other woman: the woman in black…

She made that kindly dreamy boy feel hate despite all the swears of love.

And the discord generated by the beautiful redheaded girl has always been the main reason for the flaws in all the attempts of peace of that couple in black.

And the old wise woman came back again and told him that he loved the woman who would bring the evil.

God and bad have relative sides. Good and bad depend on the vision of the seeker.

So that meant that those women switched those characteristics over the times. Over the experiences. Those weren't stony characteristics for each.

She also said more: "You'll have the longest mission and shall face the loneliness and sacrifices of your path"

And I know it was in this life that this mission of mine just started...

But before I continue this mission, I have another that I know I cannot keep, for I can only lie in this bed, in this barn, looking at the distant lake outside and remembering through this old emerald necklace these 50 years of trajectory in the river of my emotions.

Memories of a time so distant, but so spiked in my chest.

In my heart...

The house reminds me of Angelique.

The barn reminds me of her...my wife…

It took me a long time to dare to read the old journals of both women. Of course, I first read Angelique's diaries, after all, I believed that she had not given me as much trouble as Katarina.

Angelique was docile and simple. We suffered when we accepted our divorce. We cried that we had not kept the promises made by the lake. That day never left my memory, until the day I finally got the courage to read the old diaries of Katarina that were kept in the O'Gregon Palace.

After burying some of our children, the weight of the memories of the past began to torment me more and more, and that was how my curiosity began to unravel Katarina's secrets.

Was I so dumb and blind that I did not see who she really was? Was I so dumb and blind that I had not realized what she could become? Was I so dumb and blind for being what I was?

And the more I read, the more I missed... And that intrigued me. How could I miss her?

And without me realizing it, more and more my thoughts were more focused on her...

And I began to read in order to understand how the change of Katarina happened. Where I had gone wrong. Where we had gone wrong.

Lionel was very important during this process of returning to the past, for until then he had been the only one to have heard the side of Katarina when all the others judged and cruelly condemned her.

I confess that I cried when I read the old diary of young Katarina...

It seems like yesterday that I met the beautiful girl with curly hair and pink satin dress. She held a white parasol to protect herself from the sun. It was spring season. The garden of the central castle was so beautiful and colorful. It would be a banquet night and all the guests of the royal family were arriving in the carriages, which was the privilege of the nobles.

My father was an influential knight and close friend to the king and was escorted to welcome the guests.

And there she got out of the carriage as beautiful and restrained as every etiquette would order, but I realized that there was something different about her.

She smiled full of grace.

Unlike the other children who had passed by us. Unlike all the nobles who had passed by us.

She liked being there.

Her parents were serious. She wasn't.

There was also the younger blonde sister who followed the same serious demeanor as the others.

That brunette girl liked to shine. That girl was different from everyone else. That girl broke traditions no matter how hard they tried to scold her.

She simply apologized and continued to smile.

I accompanied her walking towards the castle.

Her smile changed. Her expression changed right when our eyes met.

Her eyes were as green as emerald gems.

She stopped walking for a moment and my boyish heart felt like it would come out of my mouth.

I should not be looking at them. I should have revered them. And the fear of being punished for breaking the protocol for looking back at her so beautiful and so close to me.

I smiled. I did not revere them and of course we were both scolded.

But we looked at each other again and smiled disguisedly.

That's where everything started... 60 years ago...

Ah, how that memory hurts.

How it all changed in six decades.

It's hard to believe that one day we were innocent young people. Dreamers. In love.

We destroyed ourselves.

We succeeded in destroying our innocence. Our magic. Our love.

Yes, with great regret, and within moments of my end, I admit that for my destroyed spirit I did love Katarina O'Gregon from beginning to end.

I loved her in all forms, good and bad.

And maybe mostly bad when I swore to hate her.

Little did I know that hate is a form of love. The love that got sick. And we got sick.

Only sick people can destroy themselves like we did.

But despite all the passed time, even after the marriage have been annulled, our story could never be erased. Not our memory. And Katarina still knew me too well... She just knew me too well and I still remember our last meeting in the prison.

I was so damn nervous, but I had to do that. For the last two years all my thoughts were about us. I needed to see her one last time. I needed to let her know how wrong I had been with her. I wanted her to know I was able to forgive her.

But all I did was the opposite. We argued and I told her all the things I didn't mean to say. Again my pride took over me and made me waste my only opportunity in this lifetime.

I wasted a lifetime opportunity!

A lifetime…

For many years I believed that love should be a beautiful thing, pure and full of happiness.

This is not love, it's fantasy.

 _Love is a daily achievement with yourself and with the other._

 _Love is care, affection and friendship. It is complicity in life, in dreams, in joys and failures. In pain and antics._

 _Love is to crackle up at a dull joke, because nothing better than to make them feel special to get your smiles and laughs._

 _Love is joy in the midst of chaos. It is to be very sleepy, but to hold on because the other simply needs to talk. Love is not only hand in hand, but it is also lap._

 _Love is the perfect fit. It is direction and refuge. It's having a safe haven._

 _Love is to run one's fingers through one's hair for them to sleep and fill with kisses for them to wake up._

 _Love is to see that messy face and messy hair and to admire the most beautiful image in the world. Love is having someone to count on to. And may share your fears, secrets, crazes and idiocy._

 _Love is walking together, neither in front nor behind, but side by side. Love makes sleep pass, smile opens and eyes shine._

 _Love is knowing how to be calm when it is a storm. It is to know that sometimes they will be on a bad day and all they can do is listen to you._

 _Love is waiting. It is to exercise patience and to know that, in the end, everything is arranged._

 _Love is knowing the preferred color and the favorite dish. It's taking care of the cold, the bruise._

 _Love is what is renewed with every new song discovered. It is every moment, including those that need to leave the intensities to be light, together._

 _Love is the certainty that if there are fights, so be in the attempt to make then see that you want to see them happy, really. Love is not accepting everything, but seeking to understand._

 _Love is patient, love is kind. Do not envy, do not boast, do not be proud. It does not mistreat, it does not seek its interests, it does not anger easily, it does not hold a grudge. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things._

 _Love resists in the distance, in the silence of separations and even in betrayals. Without forgiveness there is no love. Tell me who you most forgive in life, and then I will know who you loved the most._

 _Love is an equation where the multiplication of forgiveness prevails. You realize it the moment the other did everything wrong, and yet you look into their eyes and say, "Even if you do everything wrong I cannot live without you. I cannot be even half of what I am if you're not close by._

And who was the person that I most did it? Who was the woman I most forgave?

Yes, it was her. My Katarina... My gypsy soul mate.

The woman who knew me so well! She knew how to wait for me, she knew that my anger would one day slow down or pass, she knew that one day I would see her... that I'd be back... I'd say goodbye...

I proved that I loved her at that very moment. In that last argument. Even without uttering the words, I proved that there was love, and she knew it. She said that I loved her, however much I said I hated her.

For so many years I denied myself this feeling, ashamed to admit that I loved... a murderer.

But I really resented this act of hers. I was disgusted with it.

But I was more disgusted with myself.

Katarina only reflected the monster I became. I was the real murderer, the real monster of all history.

I killed Angelique and the baby in her belly...

I did not kill her with my hands, but I killed her through the indifference and torture I had subjected Katarina for so many years. I created that monster.

And I was warned of that. I remember very well the day her mother told me so.

The monster was not just Katarina, I was too.

I always knew what hurt Katarina and yet I kept hurting her with my selfish interests.

All she wanted was love, the love I refused to give her for so long...

And now I give her the distance... after seeing her so beautiful, but so lonely in that prison cell. I did everything I could to hurt her, to punish her without ever realizing why I did it.

Anger, jealousy, deception.

She was no longer only mine. She was no longer the sweet girl who exchanged glances and smiles that made my heart race as if I recognized my soul mate as in that beautiful tragic story of Christian and Katherine Greencamp

It was that love I sought, it was that purity I waited for, and failed to attain through my fears and wounded pride.

I 'hated' Katarina, but I never really hated her. I hated myself and my own disappointment. I hated the act, the breaking of the illusion.

Expectations and illusions that I created myself.

I never knew what it was to love until I lost love. Angelique's love. The love of Katarina. The love of my children. Self-love.

My children... How could I do this to them?

What kind of father puts his children against their mother and tells lies to them only to distance them from the mother who always loved them? Just to punish her?

I punished my children with my selfishness.

I have influenced my little children to despise the mother who begot them with so much love and dedication.

I did everything to stop them from seeing her in the various attempts she tried to see them from a distance, disguised.

I knew that for them she would take the risk.

She loved them too much and I knew it and I took advantage of that. I took the children from their mother and instructed them against her.

Especially our love twins... They were so small and I took advantage of that.

What a shame! Oh god, shame on me! What kind of father am I?

I was a tyrant!

Yes, I'm guilty!

I did not give them the freedom to choose what to feel for their mother's disgrace.

I paid the spouses of some to keep them at a distance because I knew that when they grew adults I could not influence them so easily. I paid to keep some distant...

But the older ones... Maybe they were the ones who had some more freedom to decide their own feelings about their mother.

I was no good at anything! And now I pay with the disease that consumes me every day, and it keeps me from going to her one more time... To finally say what she most wants to hear. What I most wanted to say.

To free her.

Not necessarily from the imprisonment, because she actually committed a crime.

But to free her. Free ourselves from the prison we are within ourselves...

And mostly to say that I love her and never stopped loving her...

Because…

 _It is very easy to love someone when this person is an exact and ideal representation of our longings, when that someone fills us with emptiness and always, is always there doing everything for us. Difficult is to love when things are not going well, when the other is indisposed that day and could not even wish you a good day because they did not sleep very well at night and the week is not being the best._

 _Difficult is to love someone after a discussion, when the winds blow contrary and you can only pray, as if you have no more arguments. It is very difficult to love when the other has problems and we have to be walls and not barriers, when the winter arrives and you need to be warm, you need to be shelter._

 _It is difficult to love the other when the smile insists on hiding and the crying persists in appearing. How difficult it is to hold hands when pride makes itself present and to embrace the other as one who apologizes for some mistake. Difficult is to love each other when the storm comes and it seems not to want to cease when the coffee cools and you do not know how to heat it._

 _It is difficult to look into each other's eyes and have compassion, even after so many mistakes, even with so many tumbles. It's hard to breathe deeply and continue to love after a word that hurts, when, in fact, we were in need of a welcoming touch._

 _Love is a sea of imperfections. We know the depth of our words, our attitudes, but sometimes, most of the time, we cannot measure that and we end up drowning the other with our waves._

 _It is easy to love the other when they offers us everything, when the other is always shelter and the smile is always present. Difficult to love in the storm, when the rain does not want to cease, when the winds are strong and you need to hold the hand of the other like who is there to be a safe haven, even if it is not so strong._

 _If there is pride, excuse me, but it is not love. If you do not have patience, I repeat, it is not love. If the words are coarse and the tone of voice seems to increase by anything, I insist, it's not love. Love is patient, love is kind, love is not easily angered._

 _It is difficult, yes, to swallow our pride and recognize that we are wrong. How difficult it is to look into each other's eyes and apologize in a tone of shame. It is difficult to have patience and tranquility, when we are tired, fed up and overwhelmed, when any sigh can be the trigger to make it explode. It's hard to offer the other what we need, it's hard to understand that today, in fact, is not a good day, but yes, I'm going to stay here with you._

 _It is difficult, yes, to understand that the other is different and even harder is to love IN the differences. In theory, everything seems complicated and far from real, but when the practice works, you understand how beautiful it is to love, how much we grow, mature, and learn to give ourselves more and more, each day a little bit more. You learn that loving is always being more and never being less. And that the other occupies a space that cannot be filled by anyone else._

 _And then you understand that the other, in their imperfections, is your perfect fit._

 _Loving when everything goes well is easy! Difficult and keep this love when things go wrong and we fail._

And once more I look at the lake to say goodbye to those young people and ask them to forgive me for having failed and I pray to God or whoever receives my broken and ashamed soul.

I pray for my children who are gone and I ask for their forgiveness from the bottom of my soul for not being a good father, but if they cannot forgive me I understand them. I forgive them.

Dear Angelique... Angely... I loved you with the ease of non-complex love. It is easy to love one who does not oppose us. The one who does not take us out of the comfort zone. But I am sure that I did love you in the most innocent way that was still in my being. And I hope that wherever you are you are still keeping your heart good after all. Your kindness has conquered me, but I understand if your sweet soul has become bitter.

Dear Kat... you're still so beautiful even in a prison cell. I knew you waited for me while I mustered the courage to go see you after reading your secrets until the moment of your apprehension. It was not easy and to face it was even more difficult and a mixture of feelings overtook me. I could not do or say anything I really wanted to. And since then I've been trying to see you again, but the disease consumes me and I know that that was the last time I saw you... So beautiful, so transparent.

Henry, my beloved and special son... words escape me for what I have to tell you. It's hard enough for a parent to have to leave a child as special as you without my protection. My fear is that people will never understand you and probably will fear you if your specialty increases. My son, forgive me for having told you so many lies about your mother and I hope that after that last conversation, you who have always listened to me, you may be able to forgive your mother who made you so special... she did not it for being bad.

To the others who were part of my story, I hope that your spirits are being illuminated by the beautiful memories that we had. You have never been and will not be forgotten. And I'm sorry if I ever failed you.

Today, that 71 year old boy leaves that message after having lived so many things, after having felt so many emotions, after having lived so many feelings.

The boy of 71 understood that he cannot keep looking back and what he sees in the waters of that distant lake are only portraits of time.

The 71-year-old is not yet a perfect being, he still has a lot to learn, but you know, the 71-year-old one has that old thing and if he were asked for any advice he would say:

 _If our parents were not the best, if they failed or mistreated us, there is nothing we can do in the face of their limitation. But we can learn to be, for our children, exactly what our parents might not have been for us: safe haven, source of love and affection._

 _If we are betrayed in a relationship, what remains is to understand where we have been fooled so that new stumbling do not happen, rather than we are questioning the role of the other and their flaws._

 _If it has happened to us if somebody has betrayed us in some way, so the next time we will be more cautious and we will learn that not everything should be commented. Exposing your life to the wrong people can bring certain damages._

 _But if, then, we ourselves have made the wrong choices in the past, we can forgive ourselves._

 _Being aware that we have failed is a good start to understanding the best direction to follow from here on. Especially if your intention was the best._

 _Repentance does not change the past, but it can improve your destiny. So, leave that weight behind trying to hit the present so that the future is peace in the heart. And when asked about your past, answer: I do not live there anymore._

It's still hard to deal with it, and maybe I need to follow my own advice.

The wise old woman was right, I would live things that would harden me, I doubted what she told me, and even decades after those words, I'm still not sure what to think about it, but I already understood that those words were not uttered for this lifetime. Both the words of mission and the words of love.

If there is even life in beyond tomb... Why not love Beyond Time?

Now it is time for me to go to sleep and prepare for my long lonely road to purify myself according to the words of the wise old Lady of Destiny.

I think I have hardened enough to face the New and the Unknown that awaits me."

.

.

And so Christopher Reed's trajectory came to an end. Lionel and Henry found his body lying in bed with one arm hanging out from the bed.

He went to the other world saddened by the guilt of having failed gravely, and part of his energy was trapped inside that barn waiting for redemption. Waiting for the reunion that did not happen until Katarina stayed in the same place years later.

Katarina did not react well to read the last letter of her beloved husband and so she stopped taking the Black Pills to finally have the greatest freedom she could have, get rid of that body and join Christopher in the afterlife.

But it was not as fast as she had expected. She had to wait many years for the prolonged effects on her body to dissipate.

It was she who found the emerald necklace lying on the floor under the bed and since then she wore it during her stay in the barn.

She knew there was where Christopher had breathed for the last time... Thinking of her. And in the others...

It was a year of long spiritual trials so they could find the right tune to finally be able to see each other.

And she saw them in her last days. She was finally able to see the presence of everyone who had left this world.

And it was he... her soul mate who received her after her last breath in the same bed where he had gone to eternal sleep: Christian with Christopher's features...

But their bitter spirits still kept him apart in the aftermath. They still had a lot to purge.

They were born again in the next century, but they did not meet. That distance was necessary. It was an apprenticeship. They were not ready yet.

Until finally in the 20th century they felt ready to meet again and to draw a new plan of life together, and especially, to forgive and support each other as a couple.

They asked for another chance together in the School of Life.

Would this lifetime finally achieve the desired success?

And so their union and/or separation would give start to the Mirror of Time.

* * *

 **So we finally came to the end of Beyond Time. It showed us how some events and coincidences happen to us but not by chance. Whatever is "good". Whatever is "bad".**

 **Even after the veil of forgetfulness is used for our own protection, it doesn't necessary veils feelings. They last beyond time. They change over time.**

 **The message that lies beyond time has been given and so the story comes to an end with partial closure.**

 **The message in Mirror of Time will be another. The past will continue existing, but it not necessarily will need to be revisited by them. They already know where they have been. They already know what they have to do.**

 **Is there pendency? Of course there is!**

 **But like the mirror, it reflects things. And it will reflect the past in the way they need to find resilience and forgiveness.**

 **They can't escape their demons anymore.**

 **They need to face their demons reflected.**

 **If you want to know the true end of this sage, keep eye on Mirror of Time and be ready for Chris' amnesia! xD**

 **Now I thank everyone who have read, reviewed, favorited, followed and have being a part of this long journey! We started back in 10/30/2017 and it finally comes to a resolution in 02/15/2019. It is certainly a long ride!**

 **All the models, pictures used, cited texts and songs used were all to illustrate how they look like and I never intended to violate any right. The games characters belong to Capcom, the OCs and the background story is mine.**

 **It has been a long and hard work, but I wouldn't be here without all your support! So a big Thank You all! :D**


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